


If I Ever Let You Down, Forgive Me

by Katsudonace



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action & Romance, Allura and Lance are Cousins, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Arranged Marriage, Avatar Allura (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Blood, Developing Relationship, Earthbender Hunk (Voltron), Family Issues, Firebender Keith (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, If You Need More Tags Let Me Know, Jealous Keith (Voltron), Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Light Angst, M/M, Metalbender Shiro (Voltron), Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Keith (Voltron), Political Intrigue, Politics, Prince Lance (Voltron), Terrorism, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Violence, annoyances to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2018-11-22 18:04:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 56,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsudonace/pseuds/Katsudonace
Summary: Former Pro-Bender and friend of Avatar Allura, Keith has finally secured his dream job of being on the Republic City police force as a detective. He’s taking down crime on the streets, and it looks like his life is finally getting back on track. That is until the civil war in the Water Tribe escalates beyond control. Keith is given the duty to watch the spoiled Tribe Prince, Lance, and make certain that no harm comes to him during his stay. That is if Keith doesn’t kill the annoying jerk first.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Microsoft Word is my beta since I don't really know anyone in the fandom. Also, I haven't written fan fiction in a few years, so I really hope this is okay.
> 
> Story title is lyrics from the song [New Love by Maroon 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6_7txZLwvA).
> 
> EDIT: Artwork by the amazing [Aqrilene](http://aqrilene.tumblr.com/).

Running down the market streets of Republic City, avoiding late night shoppers and closing carts, Keith growled as he chased down the gang member in front of him, though the tactical armor he was wearing slowed him down considerably, which only made him push himself harder. He’d been working this case for weeks, putting everything together to make the perfect case against the organization. He’d done all the leg work, set up the deal, looked over the meet point himself, and even secured the bills for this fake hand-off. His team was all set up, as soon as the exchange was made, he would be one step closer to dismantling one of the biggest drug rings in the city. Only that wasn’t what happened, since as soon as their man was in position, several other goons were the ones to ambush them.

Keith and his team managed to catch many of them with only a few scattering to the streets. That was why Keith was running after him, wanting to clean up the mess before it got out of hand. Luckily, it was late in the city and the streets weren’t as crowded as they would be in midday. It was still crowded, as it was the largest city in the world, comparable only to Ba Sing Se. After the Hundred Year War, the previous Avatar, the one before Allura, had started the United Republic as a place where all benders and non-benders, no matter what nation they were from, could find hope and peace. Which always made Keith wonder what he would think of the crime and the poverty, if he could look at it and see what Keith had seen and still be proud of it.

Shaking his head, he needed to get his mind back in the chase. Due to the time of night, if Keith lost sight of him even for a moment then he could duck into an alley and disappear for good. Keith's gray eyes scanned the crowd for anything that could help slow the man down, and he ignored the strands of his loose, long black hair whipping in his face, mind solely on capturing this man. If he was a metal-bender like some of the others on the force, like Shiro, then it would be easy, but he wasn’t. Keith was a fire-bender, and he was certain setting a street on fire wouldn’t be good for his career. He saw a closed shop selling imported clothing from the Earth Nation and a jewelry shop that sold Water Tribe styled necklaces, but it wasn’t until he noticed the Fire Nation food stall that he had an idea.

“Sorry, I’ll pay for these,” Keith promised, as he pulled the sample tray of flaming fire flakes from the unsuspecting girl’s hands. The food went everywhere as Keith drew back his hand and lined up his shot. He sucked in breath, and as soon as the moment presented itself, he released the tray, letting it go soaring through the crowd. It knocked into the back of the guy’s head, making him fall forward with a loud thud. Seeing his chance, fire erupted from Keith’s hands, launching him into the air, though it was hard to remain balanced due to the armor. Keith directed himself as much as he could with his fire blasting forward before dropping onto the criminal’s body to press his knee into his back while he put his cuffs onto his wrists.

“Man, that was great, Keith!” a voice shouted behind him. He turned to see Rolo, another detective working the case, coming up behind him. Keith hadn’t noticed him chasing after him, and it reminded him that he shouldn’t be running off on his own like that now that he worked on the police force. Before, he could run off whenever he wanted when he was a member of Team Avatar since Allura was always there to back him up with excuses about peacekeeping missions. It was hard to get in the habit of relying on people again. “You want me to take him down to the station while you get everything under wraps? I’m heading back that way, anyway.”

Keith just shook his head. “No, I’m good. I’ve got this. I should get this guy with the rest of the gang members and oversee the processing.” He looked from Rolo to the jutting alleyways that made-up Republic City then got to his feet, pulling the gang member with him. “But, if you wanted to canvas the area that would be appreciated. Maybe we can pick up some stragglers.”

Rolo gave Keith the thumbs up. “You’ve got it, Boss!” Keith watched him run down the nearest alleyway before he made his way back to pay for the loss of snacks and the tray he’d damaged. As he did, the Water Tribe shop caught his attention, seeing the blank pendants displayed in the window. The ones he saw worn had decorative patterns, so he didn’t understand why these would be worth the prices that the shop was asking. Even though he was half-Water Tribe, so many of their traditions escaped him since he’d never known his mother outside what his father told him, which wasn’t much. He wondered if he should ask Allura but decided against bothering her with something so trivial. Still, the shop was closed, so there was no point thinking about it now, anyway. Turning his attention back to the task at hand, Keith continued shoving the criminal down the street towards the waiting police cars.

* * *

After processing all the criminals, Keith still didn’t feel much better about how the bust had gone. They got a good deal of people off the street, but it wasn’t enough to force a confession, wasn’t enough to get any serious charges for any of them to try to make a deal. If anything, they might be out in a few months, if that, given that it was only mild assault. It was as if they had known what Keith had planned so that they could send a message and get away with as little jail time as possible.

Keith was in the middle of this thought as he made his way to his desk in the bullpen, prepared to spend the next several hours researching. However, that was cut short when he heard someone calling his name. He looked around the cramped, gray room with two sickly looking plants placed at either corner in a failed attempt to liven the place up a bit. Keith could see different detectives working on cases at their desks, filling out paperwork or just talking to each other. None of them seemed to notice him, so his eyes reluctantly turned to the chief’s office.

Shiro stood in the doorway, a blank look on his face that made him unreadable as he stared Keith down. Part of Keith wondered if he could shout an excuse and bolt out the door. Keith could practically hear the lecture about how he was working too hard in his head, could repeat it line by line. However, Keith respected Shiro too much to ever do that. He’d taken a chance on him when no one else would, so Keith begrudgingly made his way towards his chief.

As Keith approached, he noticed that Shiro wasn’t wearing his usual tactical armor and was dressed up in a black suit and ascot, and his white bangs had been combed back into his black hair to give him a more presentable look. His prosthetic metal arm had been shined, and the fingers twitched nervously at his side. Keith raised an eyebrow, but Shiro waved him off as he showed him into the room, closing the door behind them. Shiro led him past his desk to the two rarely used couches with the coffee table in between them. There were several folders and files on the table, meaning that Shiro had prepared for the meeting.

Keith sat down on the couch closest to the wall while Shiro sat across from him. He folded his hands awkwardly in his lap, trying not to stare at Shiro’s attire. “I’m going to a party tonight,” Shiro blurted out, rubbing at the back of his neck with his good hand. “I don’t have time to go home and change, so I showed up to work like this.” His gray eyes found a spot on the wall that made Keith think that if he was a fire-bender like their father then it would have caught alight. “I didn’t really want to, but Matt invited me, and Gunderson Global Industries is one of our top investors, so it wasn’t like I could just tell him no...”

“Of course you couldn’t,” Keith said, leaning back on the couch, feeling a little more comfortable. This topic was something he could handle, even if Keith hadn’t forgiven Matt for everything he’d done to him. He’d take anything over a lecture. “So, how is Matt doing? I haven’t really seen him since his scheme to buy Future Industries. Pidge still hasn’t forgiven him for trying to steal the company out from under her like that, you know. I don’t think she’s going to be thrilled with you if you attend.” He left out that he wasn’t happy about it, either, not wanting to make this about him.

Shiro sighed and shook his head. “Matt’s fine. He’s trying to help sort out the mess with the civil war. Pidge knows that he moved away from weapons and fueling conflict. In time, I really think the two of them will patch things up.” His gaze shifted back to Keith, growing serious as he remembered why he had invited him into his office again. “That’s not what we’re here to discuss, though. I got the reports back from the sting. They weren’t good.”

Wincing, Keith ran a hand over his face. “I know. Everything got so out of control.” He wished Shiro hadn’t remembered the topic of discussion. It was easier to talk about Matt than his hurt pride. “It was all going fine, at least I thought it was. Then I don’t know. They knew where we were, what positions we were in. I think someone tipped them off. I think maybe if I dig deeper into this then I could kick something up. Maybe if I had more resources or devoted more time-”

“Or maybe,” Shiro interjected cautiously, “and don’t flip out on me, or maybe you should take a break from this case instead of throwing yourself further into it. We’ll investigate how they managed to learn about your sting, but the fact of the matter is that they made you. Not only that, you’ve barely eaten or slept. You spend all your time reading criminal reports. It’s more than a bit concerning. I think you need to take a step back finally.”

Keith frowned, crossing his arms across his chest. “And by that you mean you’re ordering me off the case?” He snorted, ignoring how it made him sound like a child who had one of their favorite toys taken away. “Come on, Chief Shi-!” At the clearing of Shiro’s throat, Keith corrected himself, “Takashi.” He didn’t think he’d ever get used to calling him be his first name. “You know I’m the best man you have. You can’t just take me off the case, not when I’m so close.”

“It’s just that I worry about you.” Shiro rubbed the bridge of his nose, right at the scar, taking a moment to collect himself. When he did, he seemed calmer, though the stern look in his eyes didn’t fade. “You’re my brother. I want to protect you.”

Shifting angrily in his seat, Keith said, “Yeah, you were real worried about me when I was out on the streets after Dad died.” He knew it wasn’t fair to dig at that spot, neither had even known they were siblings until last year, but Keith was tired and looking to lash out. “You never treated me any differently than anyone else. Now I’m your brother, and suddenly you’re concerned.” He shook his head. “You can keep your blood. Just give me my damn case.”

Pain shot through Shiro’s eyes, and Keith felt guilty as he watched the fight leave him. “Keith, I’m not going to argue,” Shiro promised. “I swear I’m not showing nepotism. I know you’re my best man, hands down. In fact, I was hoping you wrapped up this case today since I had a new one lined up for you. No one else came to mind since I didn’t know who to trust with it, especially since if you do this, it’s basically a guaranteed captain’s position. No doubt about it.”

While Keith knew that he should be suspicious since Shiro never resorted to flattery like this, it was hard not to get drawn in at least a little by his words. “Guaranteed captain’s position? There’s nothing that would do that. Is there?” Keith bit at his lip, trying to resist the bait, but failing miserably. “What kind of case is it, anyway?”

“I can’t tell you.” A smirk appeared on Shiro’s face. “It’s classified. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.” He then gave a mock sigh. “Of course, you’re determined to continue working this current case, so that makes you way too busy for this mission, meaning I can’t speak a single word about it to you. It’s a real shame. But, I respect that you don’t want me to look out for you. Very noble.”

Keith tried to remain silent as he attempted to fight against the temptation. Shiro’s voice gave everything away that this was a trap to force Keith to take a vacation, but in the end, he couldn’t resist. “Okay, I’ll bite,” he said, leaning forward, moving his wrists to rest on his knees. “I’ll do this ‘top secret’ mission, and then when I’m captain, you’ll never order me to take a vacation from work again. Sound good?”

“Sounds great.” Shiro sounded happy, which made Keith even more suspicious. He grabbed a file folder and opened it before pushing it towards Keith. “Given the sensitive nature of this case, I’m going to need you to sign this. It’s a non-disclosure agreement and a promise of commitment. Not that I don’t trust you, just protocol. Can’t make any exceptions, even for blood. I’m sure you appreciate that, right?”

Shiro held out a pen, and Keith took it. Keith narrowed his eyes at Shiro as he pulled the paper towards him. He tried to read over it to see if there were any clues, but it was all legal jargon that masked the truth. Tapping the tip of the pen against the desk, he ignored Shiro’s disapproving look at the ink splattering from the tip as he gave the decision a half-second more of thought before he signed his name on the line and slid the paper back to Shiro then waited to hear the rest of his new case.

* * *

As it turned out, the ‘secret mission’ was to watch one of Allura’s spoiled cousins. Keith had heard about the civil war in the Water Tribe, how negotiations had fallen through countless times during its course, the coup that had placed Loyalist in charge of the South, and how Allura worried that it might affect the peace that the previous Avatar had worked hard to create between the two of them. She didn’t mention it, but Keith knew she worried about her mother, too. Still, that didn’t mean that Keith had to be happy about his babysitting duty. He could just picture Shiro laughing at how easily Keith fell for his trap.

“I wonder which cousin it’ll be,” Hunk said beside him, crossing his arms over his chest, a twitch forming in his brown eyes. “I hope it’s not Luxia,” he continued, more muttering to himself. “Man, I still have nightmares about that.” Hunk shivered violently at the memory of her. “What if she tries to force me to marry her again? I have a girlfriend. I don’t think Shay would like me marrying Allura’s weird cousin.”

Keith placed a comforting hand on Hunk’s shoulder. He hadn’t been there for the whole incident, but what he had heard from Allura, it had been a close call in the end. Luxia didn’t seem that bad when Keith had met her, but he supposed looks were deceiving. “The laws of Republic City are different. If she tried a stunt like that here, then I could arrest her. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m here for you.”

Hunk relaxed, falling into pace with Keith once again. The two were making their way to the docks to the ship that held the person he was supposed to protect. Keith wished Allura was here, but she needed to check over something with Pidge, which sounded very important, so he hadn’t pressed. That left Hunk, who thankfully had free time between filming his mover franchise. As long as Keith didn’t have to go through this punishment alone, he was happy.

It was a nice day on the marina, and Keith could clearly see Air Temple Island in the distance from where they stood on the docks, which were filled with more personal ships than cargo vessels. Hunk was dressed down for the occasion with only a white tank that stood out against his dark skin and canvas pants. The outfit showed off his stocky yet muscular body, which was different than the compact way that Keith was built. He had at least slicked his dark brown hair back instead of letting it fall into his usual bowl cut. Keith, on the other hand, had decided to go with his formal wear, going as far as to wear a red, Fire Tribe-styled jacket despite the heat, as well as tying back his long hair into a ponytail. While he didn’t like the Northern Water Tribe’s occupation of the South, he didn’t want to disappoint Shiro either, since he looked up to him even before he found out they were brothers.

When they reached the end of the pier, they both stared at the private yacht docked there, making note that it was twice the size of Matt’s, which they had thought already looked like a full-fledged ocean liner. A tall boy with a blue canvas bag slung over his shoulder stood in front of it, looking bored as the crew bustled around him. With his tan skin and blue eyes, it was clear that he was from the Water Tribe, but his brown hair was cut shorter, in a more modern style than most of the men Allura had introduced him to. His clothes were fashioned in the style of Republic City, though the fur-lining and blue fabric gave it a distinct Water Tribe feel.

“Lance, buddy!” Hunk cried out, taking off in a full run when he saw the boy in front of him. Lance looked up just in time to see Hunk just before he barreled into the side of him. A grin spread across Lance’s face, returning the hug with just as much effort.

“Hunk, my man!” Lance said with a laugh. He pulled back, sticking his hands in his pocket. “If it isn’t my favorite almost-brother-in-law. What are you doing here?” His gaze drifted over to Keith to give him an icy glare before returning to Hunk, the smile quickly returning to his face. “I expected to meet my bodyguard. I heard he’s got a huge stick up his ass and a nasty mullet to boot. The things I put up with being me.”

Hunk shivered visibly. “Ug, don’t remind me. I’m so glad it’s you not her.” He didn’t seem to notice that the dig at Keith was intentional, though, as he chuckled and shook his head. “I’m here, though, because I’m with your bodyguard. See, it’s Keith. You remember him, right? He came to the festival with us, and he was on my Pro-Bending team. You know, Keith.”

“Keith,” Lance repeated. He turned his body to face Keith, tilting his head to the side. Now that Keith was facing Lance, he did remember him, but when they’d met, his hair was traditional and long, matching his twin sister’s perfectly. “Nope. Doesn’t ring a bell,” he declared dramatically.

“Lance. Lance. Lance.” Keith said, putting a finger to his chin since two could play at that game. “Thinking on it, it doesn’t seem familiar to me, either, but it does sound like the name a complete, self-centered jerk would have.”

A vein threatened to pop in Lance’s head, and he looked ready to punch Keith when Hunk suddenly stood in the middle of the two of them. “Hey! Hey, guys,” Hunk said sternly, placing his hands up defensively. “You know what I think would be fun? If we all walked casually to the end of the pier and towards the car, don’t you think?”

Lance placed a hand on his hips, which popped out to the side as he considered the suggestion. “Whatever, but,” he relented, holding out his bag to Keith with a small smirk, “my bodyguard has to carry my bags there.” As added emphasis, he wiggled the bag out in front of Keith, daring him to take it from his hands.

Keith grabbed the bag, tempted to throw it into the ocean, but the harsh look from Hunk made him shoulder it instead. “At least you packed light,” Keith said with a sigh. “This weighs a ton, though. What did you pack in here, rocks?”

“Hm?” Lance said in a disinterested way as he began walking forward, placing his hands behind his head. “Oh, no, that’s just the one bag. It’s filled with all my skin care products and seaweed wraps. Just traditional Water Tribe things. _Those_ are my bags.”

When Lance jerked his head back towards the yacht, Keith looked despite himself. Keith watched as one of the cranes placed a stack of trunks onto the pier. He glared at Lance, but an agreement was an agreement, so began making his way towards the luggage. Much to Keith’s gratitude, Hunk began walking back with him, followed by Lance, who seemed intent on sticking close to them despite his behavior towards Keith.

“Buddy, this is a lot of luggage,” Hunk said, grabbing a few trunks, lifting them easily, making it look almost effortless. “And, you didn’t mention the haircut in your letters. Isn’t it- I don’t know. Don’t the Water Tribe have something weird about hair? Or was that just Luxia? Is it too personal to ask about? Because if it is- I just want to know that you’re all right.”

Lance ran a hand through his hair with a frown as he considered Hunk’s words. “No, it’s not. A lot of guys chop off their hair when they move to Republic City. In the end, it’s all just fashion.” There was a dullness to Lance’s eyes as he spoke, but it vanished as soon as it appeared since with a shrug, he was smiling again. “As for the luggage, wars can last years. Don’t want to go unprepared since I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“All right,” Hunk said, though he sounded unconvinced. “As long as you’re all right, that’s all that really matters.” He paused, biting at his lip. “Though, just know that if there’s anything on your mind then you can talk to me, yeah?”

A noncommittal hum rang from Lance as he reached down and grabbed the smallest box among the pile, hugging it to his chest. Hunk glanced over at Keith, as if expecting to get some kind of support from him in regards to Lance’s attitude. Keith just shrugged in response and grabbed some luggage since it wasn’t any of his business why Lance decided to cut his hair. He was only supposed to keep him alive, not be his therapist.

The two of them, Hunk and Keith, moved the trunks to the Holtmobile that Pidge let them borrow while Lance just followed them back and forth, holding the single box that he picked up from the pile the first time. Lance made small talk with Hunk, catching up and complaining about the horrible sea voyage. Keith mostly tuned them out, not caring that they ran out of fizzy drinks and didn’t have time to stop to restock at a port. It was all nobility problems, not something that Keith could sympathize with even though Hunk was trying his best.

“That’s rough, man,” Hunk said, tying the rest of the luggage to the roof of the car. “You know, since you had a bad time out at sea, you should come to the party Matt is throwing tonight. It’s celebrating the premiere of one of our newest movers. I’m sure if I talked to him then he’d let you in. Maybe even get you tickets.”

“You mean those propaganda things?” Lance asked, wrinkling his nose. He tapped his fingers against the box in his hands then grinned. “No to the mover, yes to the party. Can’t deny all those lovely starlets the beauty that is me.”

A wink directed at Keith followed the statement, and Keith rolled his eyes. “Sorry, but the ‘starlets’ are going to have to be disappointed,” he said, shooting an exasperated look at Hunk for even suggesting that. “It’ll be much too crowded, for one. Two, you need to unpack all of this...” Keith waved his hand, searching for a polite word before settling on, “trash. Then three, you have a meeting with President Iverson tomorrow. Don’t think Chief Shirogane didn’t brief me on your appointments while you’re here.”

Surprisingly, Hunk was the one that whined first. His bottom lip extended slightly, pouting at Keith while giving him his saddest look he could muster. “Come on, Keith. You can’t just lock Lance in his room for his entire stay here.”

“Yeah, come on, Keith,” Lance whined, too, though his voice grated on Keith’s nerves rather than made him more sympathetic. “Look at this face.” He grabbed Hunk’s face, squishing his cheeks together further while Hunk continued to pout. “You can’t disappoint this face.”

“Totally can’t disappoint my face.” Hunk batted his eyes at Keith, trying to look innocent. “Besides, you know how I hate going to these things. It’ll be so awkward with only Allura there since Pidge won’t to go. At least if Lance comes, you’ll be able to come, too. Please, Keith? Please?”

“Fine,” Keith relented. “I guess!” He threw his hands up in resignation and annoyance. “It’s not like my entire career is riding on this, and I could get the captain position that I’ve always wanted, but no, this is good. Let’s risk everything on the first day to go to a party.”

“Don’t be such a party pooper.” Lance threw his arm over Keith’s shoulder. “What’s the worst that could happen? The world won’t end if you have a little fun.” He tilted his head to the side, gazing over Keith with an unreadable look. “Unless you know something I don’t.”

Keith grabbed Lance’s arm, wrenching it off him. “Just get in the car,” he said with a sigh. “If we’re going to go to the party then we’re going to need to drop Hunk off at his apartment before we take your things back to the hotel, which,” his gaze lingered on the luggage towering on the top of the car, “could take a while.”

Hunk and Lance shared a collective shout of joy and double high-fived each other before they scrambled into the back of the car. Keith got in after them, rubbing at his temple, feeling a headache coming on as the two of them continued to catch up on what they’d missed over the past few months. He noticed that Lance let Hunk do most of the talking, outside of a complaint every so often, but he eventually was able to tune them out, allowing his focus to shift to navigating the city streets as he drove.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was supposed to be a short one-shot where Keith misunderstands a very specific Water Tribe tradition. Only, I made the mistake of rewatching the Legend of Korra so that I could remember some of the basics of Republic City. However, it instead reminded me of my love of Wuko, and it snowballed from there. Since I picture Lance being a part of the Water Tribe, he ended up becoming a combination of Desna and Wu.
> 
>  
> 
> [Please come visit me on my tumblr!](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Microsoft Word is my beta because I'm a lonely potato.

After dropping off all of Lance’s luggage at the hotel, Keith thought that they would be able to leave for the party straight away, only Lance had other plans in mind. First, he had to go through all his luggage until he found the perfect outfit, which looked exactly like his first one except with a dark blue ascot. Then, he had to do his skin care routine, which lasted longer than Keith expected. Once Lance finished and the embassy car pulled around, since Pidge refused to let one of her cars be seen at one of Matt’s events, it was late, much later than the time Hunk had told them the party started.

Keith muttered to himself about how irresponsible Lance was while Lance sat on the other side, trying to ignore him, but he looked angrier with each word that left Keith’s mouth. Thankfully, though, the ride was short, and it wasn’t long before they were pulling up to the doors of the large banquet hall. Keith had been here one other time after Allura had first saved the city, only the novelty of the Avatar had quickly faded after that.

The press lined the red carpet up to the grand entrance into the arched banquet hall, large cameras set up to take the occasional picture while the reporters chatted with the guests. As Keith got out of the car, stepping into a big puddle that he couldn’t avoid, not that it mattered to him, he could see some other celebrities pulling up to door, too, so maybe it was Keith who was out of place rather than Lance. Keith sighed, wondering if it was too late to convince Shiro to put someone who truly knew how to deal with this lifestyle on the case.

Standing there, Keith realized after a moment that he was alone. He glanced back and saw Lance sitting at the edge, feet dangling out the side with a serious expression on his face. “Keith,” he said in a whining tone when he noticed Keith was staring at him, nose wrinkling as if he was trying to appear playful. “There’s a puddle in front of the car. Do something about it. These are new boots, and if I ruin them then I’ll die.”

Keith glared at Lance. He crossed his arms over his chest, and Lance copied the movement, sitting up straighter under Keith’s gaze. Somehow, Lance knew how to push Keith’s buttons. “Why don’t you just bend it out of the way?”

“Because,” Lance snorted, looking off-put and sounding defense, “it’s beneath me to do that when I clearly have a bodyguard who is supposed to protect me, and that includes my feet. Now, we’re either going to sit here all night or you’re going to do something about this puddle.”

Annoyed beyond belief, Keith walked through the puddle again and unceremoniously lifted Lance out of the car, cradling him in his arms like a princess. He ignored the protests and kicks that Lance assaulted him with as he carried him across the puddle, all while loud flashes from the press’s cameras went off wildly. Keith deposited Lance onto solid ground, not missing the way Lance’s cheeks were red and heated.

Lance stomped his foot. “You asshole!” he huffed, though his cheeks only became more red as he said it. “I told you to take care of the puddle!” He pointed a shaky finger at him. “How dare you think that a commoner such as yourself can touch me!”

“Commoner!?” Keith growled, finding that the comment got under his skin more than he would have liked. “You didn’t want to go in the damn puddle, so you didn’t! I did exactly what you asked! You have no reason to be mad at me!”

Clicking his tongue against his teeth, Lance stared down Keith, crossing his arms over his chest as he searched for an argument. “Whatever,” Lance said irritably. “Just don’t embarrass me in front of the press again and keep your distance like you’re supposed to, got it?”

The reminder of the press made Keith freeze a little. He remembered how cruel they could be at times. Even before he became a critical member of Team Avatar, the articles they wrote about him and Hunk when they were Pro-Benders could get brutal. So, he nodded his head, which seemed to satisfy Lance as he stepped out towards the press with a huge smile on his face.

Keith watched him carefully, making certain to stay out of the way and not draw attention to himself. It amazed him how at ease Lance looked, going from one reporter to the next, signing some stuff as if he was a celebrity instead of a spoiled tribe prince. They asked Lance the same questions over and over, but nothing regarding the state of the Northern Water Tribe. It was silly things, like who he was wearing, which confused Keith, but seemed to thrill Lance, and if he was dating anyone, the answer was no, which seemed to delight some of the bystanders nearby, as if they had a chance.

Making it to the entrance of the party took them at least another hour due to all the reporters hounding Lance. Part of Keith felt sorry for Lance, having to deal with their relentless questions, though the other part of him was annoyed. He hated the ego that Lance had, and he expressed it in glaring daggers at Lance’s neck the entire time while wondering what he had done so wrong that Shiro would punish him like this.

However, he tried to push that annoyance from his mind, as Keith remembered that Shiro would be attending this party, as well. He walked in behind Lance, taking in the sight of the crowded banquet hall. It shouldn’t surprise him to see so many people dressed in their fanciest clothes since he’d attended a party or two with Allura, but Keith still couldn’t stop himself from gawking at everyone or the elaborate crystal chandeliers that sprawled over the expansive hall.

Lance made a beeline for the dance floor, and Keith kept an eye on him as he hit on a bunch of starlets that were standing off to the side. Keith, on the other hand, made his way to the refreshment table, because he knew that was where Hunk and Allura would be camping out. It was the same with every party or social gathering, and he wondered if any of the other Team Avatars had to go through all of this.

“And then I punched him,” Keith heard Allura say. She was standing near Hunk, awkwardly huddled in a corner. She wore her white hair up in the traditional Water Tribe loopies, that Keith always forgot the name for, with her matching light blue robes that stood in contrast to her dark skin. Her bright blue eyes turned him, a warm gaze filling them. “You were there. You tell the story better than I do, Keith.”

“You got some action? Man, I’m jealous,” Hunk whined. He’d switched from his casual wear to a yellow suit that seemed to be custom tailored to him, which made Keith feel a little awkward given that his clothes and hair didn’t match their sophistication at all. It wasn’t as if the force paid much. “Like normally, I wouldn’t care, but these movers are taking over my life. I can’t even design things with Pidge any longer. It sucks so bad.”

“At least you’re not babysitting Lance.” Keith looked over to where Lance was wiggling on the dance floor, arms circling around while doing a shimmy. It wouldn’t look that bad if the music being played wasn’t classic ballroom. “I’ve only been watching him for a few hours, and I already feel like killing him. How do you put up with him, Allura?”

Allura glanced over at Lance, lips thinning. “I normally don’t have to. Lance lives in the North while I’m from the South. We might be cousins, but there’s a whole ocean between us. If I’m honest, I’m not too thrilled about him being here, either.”

“Lance isn’t that bad,” Hunk said, jumping to Lance’s defense, a little like when they were on the pier. “He made this suit for me. Yeah, it was originally for his sister’s wedding to me, but he didn’t have to finish it. I mean, just look at the stitching.” He opened the jacket to show off the satin lining. “It’s completely professional.”

“I don’t think his sewing skills make up for what his people have done to the Southern Water Tribe.” Allura sent a small glare Lance’s way. “If they would just listen and do what we asked then this whole conflict could be behind us.”

“Lance is just a spoiled tribe prince, though,” Keith said, and Hunk glowered at him. “He is!” he exclaimed throwing up his hands. “I mean, it’s not like he helped you escape from his sister’s clutches, and he has sixteen different face creams. Sixteen. No one needs that much.”

Hunk looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he shook his head then grabbed a plate, piling on the food before excusing himself. He walked over to where Lance was dancing, offering him the food plate. It made one of Keith’s eyebrows raise, and he glanced over at Allura, who shrugged her shoulders, just as confused as he was.

Keith continued to watch them, frowning as Hunk motioned for them to leave. When Lance began to move with Hunk to the other side of the room, towards the full windows that looked out to some private park, Keith was tempted to stay where he was, but then Hunk showed him a real door that led outside, meaning Keith had to follow. He apologized to Allura before making his way after them.

It felt wrong, sneaking out after them, but Shiro had put Keith in charge of Lance’s safety. At least, that’s what he told himself as he squatted in a nearby bush, watching the two of them as they sat in front of a fountain. They had their backs to him, but that yellow suit that Lance made gave Hunk away, so he knew it was them without question.

“And they just came at you with that out of the blue? Please tell me you’re not going to accept,” Hunk asked. They were already in the middle of a conversation from what Keith could tell. Eavesdropping on Hunk made Keith squirm, and he debated whether he should sneak away or not. “No, don’t put the offering like that. She hates it when you mush everything together. You got to do it like this.”

“Like this?” Lance asked as he began to fiddle with something in front of them. “And it’s not out of the blue. Father’s been discussing it behind my back for a while. I get why they’re doing it, and why it has to be me, so of course I’m going to accept. Hunk, it’d be selfish if I didn’t, but...” He trailed off and his hand went up to the front of his neck, feeling an empty spot there. “I do agree that this might not be the best way to go about this.”

Hunk didn’t respond as the air around them stilled and the wind began to pick up, causing the leaves of the park to rustle. Then, appearing before them, was Shay, a spirit of the earth and Hunk’s girlfriend. She didn’t look human in the slightest bit, having a more rock-like appearance along with a flat face and hoops on the side of her head that looked like earrings. Emerald and yellow robes covered her light gray skin as she floated before them. Shay gazed at Hunk lovingly with her yellow eyes, and Keith felt a pang of jealousy, knowing he’d always been too prickly to get close to anyone, so it wasn’t as if he’d ever allow someone to look at him that way.

“Lance, this is Shay,” Hunk introduced, “Shay, this is Lance. He’s the guy I told you about. His sister tried to marry me.” He laughed awkwardly. “And like I said, he’s so over the two of us becoming brothers-in-law, so no vengeful spirit stuff, okay?”

Shay chuckled. “I would never go all ‘vengeful spirit’ unless you asked me to, Hunk.” She then turned her attention to Lance, bowing slightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you at last, Lance. Hunk has told me so much about you.”

“He’s told me a lot about you, too,” Lance said, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. He got to his feet to return the bow and then turned his head away from her, allowing to Keith to see a small frown on his face. “I wanted to apologize for what my father and sister did, and probably what I would have done if I-”

Guilt filled Lance’s expression, but he didn’t get to finish his apology to Shay as a loud crash and screams rang out from behind them. Without thinking, Keith popped up from behind the bush, just as Lance turned all the way to look at the chaos unfolding in the banquet hall while Hunk quickly scrambled to his feet. No one seemed to notice Keith, though, as their focus was too caught up with whatever was happening in the banquet hall.

Lance’s eyes widened in horror, and Keith followed his gaze to see that one of the chandeliers had fallen and split the room with glass debris. It created a divide between a person in a traditional Water Tribe parka holding a short, spectacled man with light brown hair in a green suit of similar design to Lance’s, minus the fur, and the rest of the crowd. “This isn’t me this time!” Matt, of course it was Matt, shouted out to the crowd as he struggled in the man’s grip. “Shiro! I promise that this wasn’t me!”

“Don’t even think about coming any closer,” the man holding Matt hostage said. “If anyone moves any closer then I’m going to blow this place to the ground.” He held up something, but Keith couldn’t see his hand since Matt’s head blocked it. Keith assumed it was bad, though as another round of screams rang through the crowd. “You have twenty minutes to leave this building and then everyone still here is going to die.”

The man backed away, and panic filled the room. People clawed at each other while Allura tried to calm them with the rest of security. The terrorist made his escape, slipping through the door into one of the many hallways of the banquet center. A distressed growl sounded from the side of him, so Keith glanced over at Lance. His eyes were wild and desperate, as he seemed suddenly hyperaware of his surroundings, eyes flickering over every surface around them.

“Hunk,” Lance said, turning to his friend. “I need to trust me on this, buddy. Block all the exits, don’t let anyone out of this building. Don’t let a single person out onto the street, and if you can, warn the reporters that that are still out there to find cover.”

Nodding his head, Hunk said, “I do trust you, and you can count on me.” Dirt began to rise beneath Hunk, carrying him upward while Shay followed. “Come on, Shay, you heard the man, let’s go block some exits... and maybe save some reporters, if they’re nice.”

Lance watched Hunk rise to the roof and disappear onto it before he turned his attention back to Keith. Anger flickered in his eyes, but he shook his head before marching towards him as his eyes narrowed. Keith tensed, prepared for a fight. Instead, Lance seemed to dissolve. For a moment, he worried that Lance would collapse into him. Lance didn’t, even if he looked like he was barely holding it together.

“I know you hate me,” Lance said, his fists clenched at his side, hands visibly shaking. “Still, I need you trust me. If you want to save lives, destroy that fountain and its water source then take me to your captain, chief, whoever. _Please_ , Keith.”

While Keith’s first instinct was to deny him, it was the ‘please’ that got him. It was different than his begging at the pier, not conceited or whiny, just plain lost, and Keith found the fire in his hand kindling at it. Before he even knew what he was doing, flames shot out from Keith’s hand, obliterating the fountain, leaving only steam and rubble where it stood. “Come on,” Keith said, grabbing Lance’s wrist so that he could tug him forward. “This way.”

Keith led Lance back into the banquet hall. It was emptier than it had been a moment ago, but there were still people screaming and clawing for the exit. Shiro was easy to spot in the center of it all, directing people and giving orders. He’d somehow got into his tactical armor and had a command radio strapped to his chest, but Keith had the sneaking suspicion that he had asked some of the security detail to bring it with them due to Shiro’s over-prepared nature.

“Chief Shirogane,” Keith called as he continued to drag Lance along. It should have concerned him how frail Lance felt, but his mind was elsewhere as Shiro turned to him with a frown. “Chief Shirogane, there’s something you need to know!”

Shiro didn’t correct him, instead his eyes moved from Lance to Keith in concern. “What are you two doing here? Keith, it’s dangerous to bring him here no matter what you had to tell me. I thought we went over all this in your briefing. Get him to safety first.”

“This is important!” Lance shouted, stepping in front of Keith, roughly pulling his wrist free of Keith’s hand. He looked oddly protective, so Keith moved forward so that he could stand beside him. “I asked him to bring me to you because I’ve seen this before. It’s not going to turn out how you’re expecting.”

“What?” Shiro blinked, his eyes lingering on Keith before returning to Lance. It was clear that they were still going to have words, but later, after everything was over. “All right, tell me what you know and how you know it.”

“I recognized that parka from a Southern Separatist group. They did this at the capitol building,” Lance said, gritting his teeth as he remembered the events. “They couldn’t get anything past security, so instead they snuck some people in and used a bomb threat to create panic. They then picked off people as they fled with ice shards, exploding surrounding buildings to add to the body count and chaos. There were large puddles around the whole event, and it didn’t even rain. If these people leave this building, they’ll die.”

“This is a big decision,” Shiro said seriously, “if I stop the evacuation and focus somewhere else then if the bomb truly is here that could cost us hundreds of lives. Are you certain about this? I need you to be one hundred percent sure, got it?”

Looking at Lance’s trembling form and the pain on his face, Keith nodded his head. “Lance is. He’s the one that’d been living in the war zone, not us. Besides, why not just set off the bomb and take credit afterwards if they’re trying to make a point? This way makes a lot more sense. There will be a lot more civilian deaths if they go this route.”

“All right then I trust him.” Grabbing the receiver off his chest, Shiro barked his orders into it, “Change of plans. We got new intel. I still want the banquet hall evacuated, but try to move the people into secure locations inside the building. Metal-benders, split off and begin searching neighboring buildings and streets for anything that might be a threat. Then get some benders to clear any water sources they find no matter how small. Finally tell Allura that she’s with me. We’re going to go after the hostage and detonator.”

After that, Shiro began running in the opposite direction, towards where the terrorist had fled with Matt. Keith stared at him as he ran, throwing his hands up at Shiro despite the other not being able to see him. “What about me?” Keith called out to him, despite knowing already what Shiro was going to say.

“Guard Prince Lance!” Shiro replied, glancing over his shoulder at him briefly. “Get him as far away from danger as you can!” He then continued running out to the other end of the banquet hall, abandoning Keith to his orders, more concerned with sacrificing himself than gaining the opinions of others.

Keith waited for Shiro to disappear before he began running in the other direction, where the other officers were directing the crowd. However, instead of following them to where it was safe, he turned down an empty hallway. He heard footfalls next to him as he ran and expected it to be Allura beside him, only to be surprised to see Lance gaining on him, allowing his long legs to carry him in a way as to catch up to Keith. A determined gaze had entered Lance’s eyes, throwing him a bit that Lance would willingly run towards danger.

“What are you doing?” Keith demanded. He bit at his lip, looking over his shoulder for anyone that he could hand Lance off to, but no one else had followed them. “Do you even know what I’m about to do? I don’t time have to babysit you!”

“You’re not leaving me behind!” Lance shouted back. “If you think that I’m going to let you show me up then you have another thing coming.” He clenched his fists at his side and he was still shaking, but he didn’t stop running. “I’m not turning back, and you can’t make me. Just tell me what needs to be done. I’ll do it. Probably better than you.”

Keith looked over his shoulder again, but there still wasn’t anyone around. Weighing his options, he finally ground out, “Fine, just stay close and pull your weight. If anything goes wrong, then it’s on you. Don’t make me regret this.”

“You won’t for a second.” Lance slowed his pace so that he could keep in time with Keith. “Where are we going, and what are we doing, anyway? There isn’t a bomb in here. Everything is happening outside. If we want to be of help, we should head there.”

“Yeah, I get that, but something didn’t seem right to me.” He glanced at Lance, still shocked to see him running beside him. “There’s no reason Southern Separatists would target this event, but then I remembered the face you made when Hunk mentioned the movers.”

Lance’s eyes widened as he made the connection, too. “You’re right. They wouldn’t, but Loyalists would.” Worrying at his lip, he failed to meet Keith’s gaze. “Do you think that they’ve been doing these terror attacks to make the Southerners look bad?”

“I don’t know.” Keith honestly didn’t since he was just acting on a hunch that he didn’t get a chance to share with Shiro, but he’d never known them to be wrong. “That’s why we’re going to try to ask one of these guys.”

Keith turned the corner and burst through the doors of the kitchen. It was a large kitchen with counters like mazes and large stoves lining the back wall with even steel-doored pantry on the side. A dozen or so of the kitchen staff lingered there, either unaware of the panic or had decided to evacuate here. They didn’t look suspicious as they talked amongst themselves in hushed whispers. He would have run past them, except Lance stopped, gazing over some of the staff with a frown.

“I know you,” Lance said, stopping in front of one of the waiters. “You’re-” The waiter froze under the scrutiny. He did look like he was from the Water Tribe, but he had an undercut with no knot, which Keith never would have pegged on a Loyalist. “I saw you meeting with-!”

Lance didn’t get to finish his sentence as water from a nearby pot rose into the air, and Keith had just enough time to push him out of the way before the boiling liquid came barreling at them. They tumbled to the floor, Keith landing on top of Lance, straddling his chest while his other hand rested near Lance’s head to support him while he assessed the situation. He ignored the small whimper underneath him, focusing more on the shuffling of feet around them.

“Can you water-bend us out of this?” Keith asked before looking down at Lance, noticing a faint amount of color in his cheeks. He didn’t have a plan, all he knew was that he didn’t want to burn down a building with his fire-bending, not again.

“No can do,” Lance said, rubbing his lower back with a wince. “You seriously messed up my chakras. There’s no way I can bend anything with them all out of alignment. Sorry, but you’re on your own in that department.”

Keith’s nose wrinkled and his face screwed up in confusion. “Chakras?” Lance gave him a small nod but didn’t elaborate. He didn’t have a chance to as more water came streaming towards them. The water whipped around, lashing out at Keith, slamming into his chest and knocking him off Lance into a counter. Plates that were balanced there crashed loudly at his feet, but he’d worry about the broken glass later.

If Lance wasn’t going to bend, then that didn’t leave Keith with much choice. He took a fighting stance, pressing himself as much as he could against the counter, not wanting them to get the drop on him. Being a fire-bender, Keith already had the disadvantage since the water could extinguish his flames if he didn’t get them hot enough, but if he got them too hot then he didn’t think even being Shiro’s brother would save him from getting kicked off the force after he burned down the banquet hall.

The first man struck with flowing movements, summoning another water whip while jumping to kick at him. Keith sent out flames to protect against the water, causing a few to jump back, while he blocked the man’s kick with his forearm. He wanted to go on the offensive, only the men who had dodged his flames were moving in again. Two water whips now formed, preparing to strike at Keith, but there was a loud clang, and the water dropped to the floor along with the man.

As he did, he revealed that Lance stood behind him, holding a cast-iron frying pan. The water from the floor reformed, wrapping itself around Lance’s head, attempting drown him. Keith tried to move forward to help, but he still had several men on him, punching and kicking at him, not allowing him to make any headway.

Lance didn’t seem bothered by the development, as he continued to swing his frying pan, cheeks puffed out, clearly holding his breath. The man blocked a few of Lance’s attacks until he slipped on some leftover water on the floor, head knocking against the counter. The water around Lance’s head fell away, leaving his hair wet and sticking to his forehead.

Taking a few deep breaths, Lance pointed his frying pan at the unconscious man and grinned. “Northern Water Tribe, bitch. Born and raised.” His gloating didn’t last long as another one of the men on Keith broke off to focus his attacks on Lance. A few ice spikes formed, and Lance only had enough time to say, “Shit,” before they were launched at him.

Ducking behind the counter nearest him, Lance dodged most of the ice spikes with one just grazing his jacket. He began running back towards the ovens, and another two peeled off from Keith to chase after him, finally bringing down the numbers to make it a fair fight. Keith knew he should keep an eye on Lance, but for some reason, he trusted that he’d fair well. Instead, he focused on the men in front of him, giving them his full attention.

Keith’s movements were quick and wild, much like the fire that he commanded. Fire sparked from his fingertips between blows every time water or ice came his way. A fog began to roll due to the amount of steam that he created. It obscured his visibility slightly, but it did the same to his opponents. Keith gave into his instincts, letting them direct his punches. One fell then another, not able to keep up with him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw Lance moving closer, chasing him back towards Keith while screaming wordlessly with the frying pan in the air. Lance was down to one guy, and with another kick, so was Keith. They attacked at the same time, Lance striking the man in the back of the head with his pan while Keith punched the one in front of him out cold. As each man fell to the floor, Keith realized how close Lance had moved to him. On instinct, he leaned forward, and so did Lance. However, before they did whatever it was they planned to do, Lance seemed to come back to himself, a hurt look on his face, his eyes filled with anger, which confused Keith until Lance ground out, “Commoner,” then pulled away from him.

An awkwardness seemed to filter in between them, and they glared at each other until the sound of muffled banging caught their attention. Lance stayed back while Keith slowly approached the pantry, where he was certain the noise emanating from. Keith gripped the door handle and was surprised to see Matt there, bound and gagged, along with several people stripped down to their boxers and a few cast aside parkas. Keith frowned, trying to decide if he should leave Matt that way since he was still angry at him for setting him up for a crime he didn’t commit. However, Lance moved out from behind him, unbinding Matt and the rest of the staff.

“Thank goodness you got here,” Matt said, throwing his arms around Lance. He then went for Keith, but Keith took a step back, out of his reach. “Fair enough.” He chuckled, seemingly undisturbed by Keith’s cold behavior. “We were almost goners, though!”

While Keith wanted nothing to do with the liar, glaring at him suspiciously, Lance seemed concerned. “Goners? What was going on? Why’d they take you?” he asked. His lips pursed together, and Keith tried to shake the thought out of his head, wondering what they had been about to do when they had neared Keith’s.

“I don’t know why, but they grabbed me, and then we were running.” As he spoke, Matt began to run in place. “So, then we turned the corner, but the exit was blocked! Rock everywhere! That’s when they got the bright idea to shove me in the pantry and switch clothes with the staff.” He put a finger to the side of his cheek. “They must have been in theater, because let me tell you, those were some professional costume changes if I ever saw them.”

Keith wanted to say something sarcastic and accusing, but he didn’t get a chance to as Allura’s voice sounded from outside the door. “In here!” she shouted to whoever she was with, probably Shiro. “I think this is where I heard the screaming!”

Allura burst into the room first, fists raised, ready for a fight while Shiro was behind her, his metal arm in the shape of a sword. However, they deflated when they took in the scene, with the sword even bending back down into a hand. Shiro’s eyes flickered from the unconscious bodies to Matt. There was relief there, but that didn’t last long as he moved his gaze to Keith. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I thought I told you to guard Prince Lance, not go off on your own to take these guys out.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed. “Keith, I trusted you.”

Keith winced at the utter betrayal in Shiro’s voice, and he knew he earned it. Still, Allura stepped forward, looking to come to Keith’s defense, but it was Lance who spoke first. “But he was!” Lance protested. “It’s my fault, Chief Shirogane.” Lance hung his head, lip extending slightly. “I panicked since there was such a large crowd, so Keith, being the good bodyguard that he is, tried to find some place quiet to bring me. That’s why we came to the kitchen, and I recognized one of the kitchen staff from a meeting with my father. After that, they attacked. Keith protected me.”

While Lance spoke, Keith tried not to let his jaw drop in surprise. He schooled his expression as Shiro glanced at him, not wanting to give away that most of what Lance said was a lie. The disappointment from his face washed away, a look of pride overtaking it. “Then I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions, Keith.” He placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “You did good work.”

Keith mumbled his thanks, but he wasn’t certain if Shiro heard it as he was moving from Keith to Matt, checking his friend over for injuries. “I’m going to go help with the efforts outside,” Allura said, wrinkling her nose. He could tell she still held hard feelings against Matt for his antics last year. Keith didn’t blame her. “See if I can help round up a few more of the terrorists.”

Shiro glanced over at Allura with a nod of his head. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll finish up here, get these guys into custody, check on the hostages.” Allura snorted as she shot an untrusting look at Matt, but Shiro didn’t seem to notice as he continued speaking, “Keith, you take Lance somewhere else, hopefully not where a bunch of terrorists are hiding out. I’ll come get you when we get the all clear.”

While Keith wanted to protest, tell Shiro that he was on Team Avatar, so he should get to run off and save people, too, but he knew he’d basically be breaking the lie that Lance told. Instead, he nodded his head, knowing his voice would betray him. He watched Allura run out of the room with purpose while Lance walked behind her, placing his hands casually behind his head. Keith followed, falling behind Lance as he watched Allura disappear down the hallway and into the action. It was hard not to be jealous of her.

They walked without talking for a few more steps. Lance had a contemplative look on his face, that or Keith thought he might be constipated. “Why’d you lie to Shiro?” Keith found himself asking, though as soon as it left his mouth, he wished that he had let them walk in silence. “If you told the truth then you’d be rid of me.”

Lance shrugged his shoulders and laughed. “I think that mullet is seeping into your brain,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at him. “If you think I did that for you then you’re more of an idiot than I thought.” He turned his attention to the ceiling, staring at it smugly. “I did it because I wanted to, nothing more to it than that.”

The quiet returned with vengeance, dragging with it an awkwardness of something that remained unsaid between the two of them. Lance ducked into the nearest coat closet with Keith right behind him. He didn’t say a word to Keith as they waited for Shiro to come get them. In fact, Lance didn’t even look at Keith directly for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you to everyone who has left kudos, bookmarked, and subscribed! That means so much to me, especially since is such a self-indulgent fic.
> 
> Like always, if you feel like saying hi, leave comment below or [come see my at my tumblr](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Microsoft word is my beta.
> 
> Artwork by [Inky Thoughts](http://inky-thoughts.tumblr.com/). Thank you so much for this!

After the terrorists were caught and bombs cleared, the silence continued with them heading to bed without a single word to each other. When the morning came, Keith woke up early, as he always did. It felt odd being in the lavish room with its four-poster bed and thick drapery. The room was accented in green with cream walls that had a gold trim. If anyone told him four years ago, that he’d be playing bodyguard for the Avatar’s cousin then, well, he didn’t think he would have laughed since he barely did that back then. Maybe he would have just scowled and walked away to brood.

Keith got out of bed, running a hand through his hair, which was the most amount of grooming he needed in the morning, and went to the dresser. All his things easily fit into the one large dresser that stretched against the wall across from the foot of his bed. He hadn’t even needed to use the walk-in closet provided, though he was certain that Lance did. Opening the drawer, Keith wondered if he should dress formerly or not for the meeting. He doubted anyone would be paying attention to him, so he decided to go with his shorter red jacket. It wasn’t as fancy as his other one, but he knew he hadn’t been kidding anyone at that party. Either way, he stood out, even when placed next to Hunk or Allura.

Next, Keith grabbed the silver locket off the counter. He held it in his hands for a moment, remembering Shiro’s face when he’d opened it and saw that the picture inside was a picture of his father, realizing that Keith’s father was his father. It must have hurt to see Keith’s mom on the other side. Keith’s fingers moved to the clasp, wishing to look at her, just for a little bit to give him strength before he had to face the day. Only, a crash sounded from the living quarters, and Keith stopped, pocketing his locket so that he could run into the other room.

As he burst through the door, Keith paused, seeing Lance on his hands and knees, picking up pieces of a blue vase that used to sit on one of the end tables nearest Lance’s bedroom door. His face mask was still on, and Keith could see that his hands were shaking as he tried to gather the broken pieces into his hands. Lance looked small, but it could have been the two overstuffed, blue sofas and the size of the room that was doing it. Keith opened his mouth then closed, frowning as he didn’t know what to say. He instead disappeared back into his room, not reappearing until breakfast arrived, and even then, he decided to eat in his room.

Keith continued to hide in his room until the car that President Iverson sent for them arrived, forcing him to confront Lance. However, Lance seemed in a better mood as he hummed to himself while they walked out of the presidential suite at the Republic City Four Elements and to the elevator. They rode down it, the pullies and gears not blocking out Lance’s annoying behavior as much as Keith would have liked. He watched Lance bounce on the balls of his feet against the plush, red carpet of the gilded lift, frowning slightly. “You nervous?”

“What’s there to be nervous about?” Lance answered with a snort. “I’m as cool as a cucumberquat.” He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned in to glare at Keith. “Do you want me to be nervous? Trying to get in my head? Well, it won’t work.” Tapping the side of his temple, he continued, “My mind, can’t mess with this, so don’t even try.”

“Yeah, sure.” Keith rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the dial at the top of elevator. He watched the hand count down the numbers listed there as they descended. The awkwardness from the other night seemed to creep back as Lance stopped humming, and a part of Keith wished that he would start again, just to fill in the silence that was created. Keith wasn’t going to tell Lance that, though, feeling it’d be like signing his death sentence.

When the doors open, Keith tried to seem nonchalant as he made his way out, even if he had been thinking of clawing his way out before. He walked beside Lance as they made their way through the equally ostentatious lobby with the marble floor, glaring at anyone who thought they might approach the tribe prince. It wasn’t as if he needed much motivation to muster a scowl anyway. This morning and the extravagance of the lobby was enough to put him in a sour disposition, especially since Keith thought a two-story koi pond with a waterfall was just pushing it as far as décor went.

Reporters waited for them as soon as they left the hotel’s revolving doors. Someone had to have tipped them off to Lance’s location the other night, and it seemed as if they had waited like vultures for him to leave. With no other choice, Keith tugged Lance against him, not knowing who he trusted less, Lance or the reporters. Keith, also, used this as an excuse to work out his aggression for the day. He elbowed someone who got close and shoved a camera out of the way, trying not to look satisfied as it fell to the ground.

Lance was unusually quiet, since Keith remembered more protesting the last time he manhandled him like this. He glanced as much as he could at Lance’s face, which was practically buried in his shoulder after he had slumped against him. A forlorn expression seemed to stretch across his features, his face slack and eyes distant with distinct bags under them that spoke of sleeplessness. It explained the broken vase, at least.

Keith maneuvered Lance into the car, hoping that he could ask him what was wrong there, but Shiro was sitting in there waiting for them on the limo seats closest to the driver’s. He was back in tactical armor, and he looked tired with deep bags under his eyes. A hard frown was set into his lips while he motioned to the driver. The car started and rolled away from the curb, taking off down the street. Shiro settled in with a sigh, “Hey, sorry to bother you guys like this, but we kind of need to talk.”

“That’s ominous,” Keith said, leaning back in his seat. He saw Lance tense beside him, muscles tighten as if he was preparing for the worst. Remembering the scene in the hotel, Keith decided to place a hand on his shoulder. He’d never really done that to anyone besides Hunk or Allura, maybe Pidge, but Lance seemed to relax slightly into him. “What do you need from me?”

“Actually, I need to talk with Prince Lance.” Lance straightened as Shiro’s gaze turned to him. “I was hoping to give you a bit more time before I got your statement due to how stressful the situation was yesterday, but it doesn’t seem like we have that luxury. We thought we could get information out of the men that we captured, but all of them have gone into a state of mental shutdown. They refuse to speak or move.” He folded his hands in his lap, looking as if he was trying to collect himself before he spoke. “Prince Lance, you already went above and beyond when you came to us about the attacks. I need you to tell me what you know. If it’s hard for you-”

Lance shook his head. “No, no I can speak, though I don’t know as much as you’d probably hope.” Keith squeezed Lance’s shoulder. Lance’s eyes widened slightly before they melted into a look of gratitude, and he continued, “I saw him in a meeting with my father, but he meets with so many people that I’d nearly forgotten who they were. That was until Matt commented on the costume change.” He took a deep breath, gaze dropping to the floor. “They were actors that my father had invited to the palace once to put on a play. The guy was actually pretty nice. We chatted for a bit. I didn’t seen him after that, so I just thought the troupe had disbanded.”

“Actors? You’re sure?” When Lance nodded, Shiro curled one of his metal fingers under his own chin, eyebrows drawing together as he thought. “I believe you, but that complicates things by a lot if these terrorists are ordinary civilians. Thank you, though. We wouldn’t have any of these people in custody if it wasn’t for the information that you gave us.”

“Just want to be useful while I can be,” he replied with a chuckle, though it sounded self-deprecating. “If there’s anything else you need while I’m here, feel free to ask. I really am hoping that we can get a peaceful resolution to all of this.”

Lance’s words struck Keith as odd, but he didn’t get to say as such since Shiro was moving away from the topic of conversation, probably for Lance’s sake. Shiro explained about security and how the United Republic National Guard would be overseeing it due to the incident. As he got into the details, probably so that Keith would have a layout of where everyone was stationed, Keith’s mind wandered a bit. He couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with Lance. They hadn’t known each other very long, but the shift in his nature was obvious and annoying.

Keith stared daggers at Lance. While Shiro didn’t seem to notice, Lance did. He shot Keith some glares of his own, only they were half-hearted at best. The urge to ask what was wrong rose in Keith, but he quickly suppressed it, reminding himself that he wasn’t Lance’s therapist but his bodyguard. He instead took a deep breath, looking out the window as they pulled up to the capitol building. 

It was complete chaos outside with military personnel lining the streets to keep the public back and checkpoints everywhere to screen those entering the building. However, a slight relief edged through Keith, as all he needed to do was make it through this meeting, the civil war would be fixed, and Lance would be out of his hair for good. His stomach churned at the thought, which confused him, but it was easy enough to ignore when the doors of the car opened, forcing them out into the crowd.

* * *

As it turned out, the meeting was more private than Keith thought. There weren’t that many people compared to the other times he’d been in the capitol with Allura. The meeting was being held in a small room with a round table and only enough chairs for those attending meeting minus Keith, forcing him to stand uncomfortably at Lance’s side. Keith didn’t know many of the people here. He recognized Coran, Allura’s air-bending instructor and son of the previous Avatar. Coran gave him a small wave, giving him a goofy smile. It was a relief seeing him, the familiar air-bending robes and orange mustache a welcome sight in the unfamiliar terrain.

The only other person that Keith recognized was President Iverson, who sat stiffly opposite of Lance and seemed to be staring him down with a hard glare from his good eye. It didn’t shock Keith to not see Allura there, despite this being about her people. Maybe it was his military background, or maybe it was that he only saw Allura as a child, but he preferred not to rely on the Avatar’s power and influence. Either way, it got under Keith’s skin that President Iverson thought that he could sneak around behind Allura’s back when it concerned her own people.

President Iverson stood and cleared his throat so all eyes turned to him. “I’d like to call this emergency meeting to discuss the course of action that the Republic Union of Nations will take in regards to the Water Tribe Civil War. If anyone has any suggestions, then the floor is open.”

“I have one,” Coran said, though there was an underlining annoyance in his voice. Still, he kept a smile on his face that made Keith glad that he had been allowed to attend. “I say that we reach out to the resistance group, the Blade of Marmora. They’ve been fighting for separation longer than the civil war has been going on. They probably have better insight than us on the situation.”

“You want us to fund terrorists?” someone Keith didn’t recognize gasped. “I thought we had a plan.” At his words, Keith saw Lance sink in his chair, a hand covering his face as if to shield himself from the conversation. “We’ve spoken in great lengths with Tribe Chief Baku and Tribe Chief Florona. It’s the easiest solution.”

Coran raised an eyebrow. “This is the first I’m hearing of such a great and simple solution.” His eyes flickered to Keith then Lance before he reached up to curl in his finger in his mustache. “And for the record, the Blade of Marmora are no less terrorists than we are. Maybe we’re worse, planning and canoodling without a Southern representative here.”

“The simplest solution,” another said, ignoring Coran’s point about the representative, “is that Prince Lance marries the current Tribe Chief of the South. Florona has already given her consent to both the treaty and union that Baku has presented. Now all we need is a few formalities and rituals completed then we’ll be well on our way to peace. Don’t you agree?”

Their plan startled Keith, until Lance’s conversation with Hunk sunk in, tearing at Keith as he realized that this was what they were discussing. Lance was going to sacrifice his happiness to end the civil war. It broke him to know that he had spoken so poorly about Lance with Allura when all this time, that’s what Lance had on his mind since landing in Republic City.

“With all due respect,” Keith said, not hiding his sour tone to show that there was none, “as a friend of the Avatar, I’d like to speak on her behalf.” Lance shook his head viciously, swiping his hand repeatedly underneath his chin as he tried to catch Keith’s gaze, but Keith pretended like he didn’t see him. “I don’t think Allura or any of the people of the Southern Water Tribe would see the benefit in this ‘solution’. It’s one layer of bandages on a much deeper wound.”

“Contacting the Marmora will only lead to a more drawn out fight than an ease of conflict. If Prince Lance marries Tribe Chief Florona then we can reach peace much sooner. The Loyalists will retain connections to the North. The Separatists will get more say in their taxes. Then the North maintains control of their lands. Isn’t that a lot better than all this pointless bloodshed?” President Iverson asked. “Everyone wins.”

Lance shifted uncomfortably. From the pained look in his eyes, Keith could see guilt forming there along with a slow nod of his head. That was why before he could officially agree on the matter, Keith leaned forward and slammed his hand on the table. “Everyone wins except Prince Lance,” Keith declared. “And do you really think the Separatists will be happy with more say in their taxes after what the Northerners did to them? We should reach out to the Blade of Marmora, at least get their side of the story like Coran suggested.”

Glares shot across the room at Keith, but Coran cleared his throat, getting to his feet to raise himself to full height. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to agree with young Keith here.” He glanced over all the other politicians, not hiding his look of disdain. “If my father was alive, he wouldn’t stand for this. He’d want peace for everyone, not for only a select few. The only people this ‘marriage’, if you’d call it that, would benefit would be the rich. I won’t stand for it.”

“That’s out of the question,” President Iverson argued. “This is spilling into Republic City. One attack may have been prevented, but what about the next? We need to take care of the problem now.” He glared at Lance, which made him sink lower in his seat. “If marrying off one boy will take care of it then I don’t see the argument.”

Seeing how small and cut off President Iverson made Lance, only enraged Keith further. “Well, I’m sure that Avatar Allura, Prince Lance’s cousin, Daughter of the former Tribe Chief before you let Zarkon’s little coup succeed, would say otherwise. Maybe you’ve forgotten about the last time you made a decision without her here, but I haven’t. She hasn’t either, so I’m sure she wouldn’t be pleased to know you’re making more behind her back.”

The way President Iverson’s face turned into an embarrassed and angry scowl delighted Keith. Unlike with Shiro, Keith didn’t mind digging and dragging out his past mistakes, especially since it had hurt one of his best friends. Under the guise of an Equalist movement, Zarkon had blood-bended and lied to gain support so he could take control of the Southern Water Tribe. They’d managed to suppress Zarkon’s coup with no help from the Untied Republic, but it still created a vacuum of power that left Loyalists in charge instead of Tribe Chief Alfor since he died in the resulting battle. It had been the first spark that would become the civil war, which was what Keith wanted President Iverson to remember.

“We’ll let the topic rest for the time being,” President Iverson relented, though his eyes remained on Lance, who gulped loudly. “I’m certain that the correct decision will be made in the end. Now, moving on, we need to discuss prevention and security.”

President Iverson’s eyes lingered on Lance until the conversation about security began to become more heated. Lance relaxed the moment the attention was off him and used that opportunity to shoot a glare at Keith. Shooting one back at Lance, Keith returned his attention to the meeting. It was his job to protect Lance, even if it was from his own idiot decisions, so he wasn’t going to apologize for his actions.

* * *

The meeting ran longer than Keith expected, and by the time they were back out on the steps of the capitol building, the sun was beginning to set. Lance yawned, stretching his arms out lazily before resting them behind his head, looking just as stiff as Keith felt. The crowd had grown larger since they arrived that morning, pushing until they had surrounded most of the building, and buzzed angrily while waving signs with different messages, some of support for separating while others were against it.

Coran walked between them, hands folded behind his back. “That went about as well as I expected,” he said with a sigh. “The man has the temperament of a tiger seal and smells just as bad as one, too. We’d be better off with a sea sponge running this country than him.”

“I think a lot of people would agree,” Keith said, scanning over the crowd. “Thanks, again, though. If you didn’t have my back, we’d probably be looking at floral arrangements right now.” He tossed a glare at Lance, holding it until he caught Lance’s attention. Lance rolled his eyes then stuck out his tongue at him before quickly glancing away.

“It’s no problem, my boy,” Coran said cheerfully, as if he didn’t notice the tension between Keith and Lance. “Someone has to stand up to that bully. I know my father would have been pleased with the display you put on. He built this country from the ground up, you know. He’d be proud to see you ‘sticking it to the man’, as it were.”

Keith smiled slightly at Coran’s words, finding a bit of warmth in the fact that he might have gotten along with the previous Avatar, as well. They continued to walk, the crowd’s buzz raising to a loud roar when they caught sight of them. It wasn’t much longer until they were at the cars that were waiting them, but Keith could see some people pushing their way to the front.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith could see them rummaging for something at their sides, but before he could react, Lance was rushing forward. “Coran, watch out!” Lance shouted, diving in front of him as something flew out from the crowd. As he tackled him to the ground, a strawberry pie smashed into Lance’s back.

Another pie was thrown, but this time, Coran was ready. The pie flew into the air, hitting the person who threw it in the face. More pies were launched as the soldiers standing guard tried to swarm all while keeping the rest of the crowd controlled. Keith didn’t wait for them to do so, maybe if it were Shiro’s men, but he didn’t trust anyone under President Iverson’s command to be even halfway competent.

Grabbing Lance’s wrist, Keith pulled him to his feet and began tugging him into a run towards the parked car. He felt Lance resist slightly, hand slipping until he had him at his fingers. Keith glanced back, to see Lance was distracted by Coran, who had moved to help the soldiers gain control of the situation. “Come on,” Keith urged. “He’ll be fine. I’m more worried about you.”

Lance pursed his lips but eventually nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” He turned his attention to Keith, letting his fingers close around his. The two of them began dashing towards the car, which seemed miles away more than it had previously. Keith reached the car first, grabbing at the door to wrench it open. Lance dove in the moment he did with Keith following shortly after him. Slamming the door closed, he ordered the driver to take off, the wheels of the car screeching as it peeled down the road. 

They slumped against the seats, both panting and breathing heavily, chests heaving. Lance was wedged between the gap in the seats with his feet in Keith’s lap, which Keith shoved aside. He then shrugged off his jacket and placed it in his lap, pouting as he ran his fingers over the stain. Even Keith could tell that there was no way that it was coming out of the fabric.

As they sat, their breaths began to even and hearts settled. Keith collected himself then channeled his best inner Shiro so that he could give his best disapproving look at Lance before he shouted at him, “You could have been killed! What were you thinking taking a hit like that!? What if it wasn’t pie!?”

“Nothing!” Lance yelled back. His eyes snapped up from his jacket to scowl at Keith. “I was thinking absolutely nothing! Nothing went through my head! All I knew was that they were going to do something, and that I didn’t want Coran to get hurt. I didn’t think about what they had, only that I needed to do something.”

Keith huffed in annoyance. “That’s my job. You’re not supposed to be putting your life in danger for other people. If it wasn’t pie, you could have died. Do you know what Shiro would have done to me if anything would have happened to you?”

“Yeah, oh poor you. Poor Keith. He’s going to lose his job if I wind up dead.” Lance snorted. “It’s not like I did it on purpose. Next time, you can do your whole bodyguard thing, and I’ll act like the helpless damsel in distress so that you can feel good about yourself and not get in trouble with your beloved Chief Shirogane.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Keith rubbed at his temple, not certain how to deal with Lance. “Well, maybe it’s a little what I meant, but not fully. Support for the North has waned over the years. They could have tried to target you to send a message, thinking that if you were dead then the North might think twice about keeping their troops where they are.”

“It’s not like I support what the North is doing either,” Lance said, glancing down at the red stain on his jacket again. “I’ve read the history books. Before the Fire Nation attacked, the South was completely independent of the North. We’re there unjustly, saying we own the land just because we helped rebuild it. If it were up to me, I’d withdraw our people from the South, let them get back to doing what they do.”

Keith frowned, though he couldn’t see Lance’s face properly, he could hear the pain in his voice. “And, why don’t you? You’re a tribe prince. I’m sure there’s something in your power to do instead of just hiding here in Republic City.”

Lance bristled. “I’m not hiding!” he snapped. He slightly turned his head to glare at Keith out of the corner of his eye, and Keith returned the glare right back at him. “It’s not like I’m up to become tribe chief! Besides, you’re the one who stopped me from doing something! So, whose fault is it that there isn’t peace in the Water Tribe right now, huh? Whose I wonder?”

“You were going to martyr yourself!” Keith shouted back at him. He took a deep breath, placing his fingers at the bridge of his nose like he’d caught Shiro doing whenever Keith did something exasperating. “Why wouldn’t you become tribe chief, though? You’re twins, right? Shouldn’t you two be ruling together?”

The glare in Lance’s eyes left, having been replaced with a look of sadness and shame. He turned his head quickly so that he could stare out the window. His shoulders slumped and his body sagged further into the crack between the seats. Lance’s fingers continued to play with the stain on the jacket, and Keith knew that he had said something wrong, even if he didn’t know what it was specifically. Everyone on Team Avatar agreed that he had that effect on people, though.

They continued to ride in silence, which Keith begrudgingly noticed they did a lot, until they reached the hotel. However, by the time they did, a group of protesters had assembled in front of it, too. Some of the signs were tame with just a picture of Lance’s face with an ‘x’ through it while others were a bit more threatening. Keith saw Lance shift in his seat, but he made no movement to get up, and instead seemed to flatten himself against the floor as if he hoped that he would sink into it.

“Hey,” Keith said, but Lance didn’t turn to look at him. He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “If you promise to behave, I know a jazz club. It’s in a Fire Nation district near where I used to live before I became a Pro-Bender. They don’t really care about Water Tribe politics. We could go there to get away from everything for a bit.”

Lance continued to face the window, not saying a word. Keith was almost certain that he was going to refuse before Lance turned his head to look at him with that big, goofy grin on his face. “Oh, yeah, that sounds like a plan!” Lance exclaimed with a chuckle, his previous somber mood either forgotten or buried. “Though, I should warn you, I’ve got some moves.” He shook his fists and wiggled his hips in place to simulate dancing. “You might have to use your skills to keep all the ladies off me.”

Keith snorted to hide a laugh then told the driver where to find the club. He slid down after that so he could relax in the center next to Lance, knocking his boots into his in attempt to be playful. Thankfully, silence didn’t take hold of him and Lance. The conversation moved to a comfortable banter as they began to discuss different types of music and dances. They barely had anything in common, but it didn’t seem to matter, as Lance offered to try what Keith liked. It warmed Keith, though, he refused to say as such since he didn’t want Lance to know he was enjoying his company.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time they made it to the club. Since it was hidden away in one of the lower districts of Republic City, it wasn’t hard for them to get inside. Despite the hour and location, the club was crowded. No one seemed to pay them any mind, ignoring them as they stood at the bar or lounged at one of the tables that surrounded the small dance floor. A band played with a female singer crooning into the microphone, making the atmosphere more intimate than Keith remembered. Some couples swayed to the music, both on the dance floor and off, all seeming to be in their own private worlds.

The driver said that they’d wait for them, so Lance left his jacket in the car, leaving him in a sleeveless top, which looked like the shirt Allura wore when Keith first met her. It showed off his arms and muscles, which was probably why a crowd of girls had collected around the two of them at the table they had managed to snag for themselves, despite seeming to have no idea that Lance was a tribe prince. Some fawned over Keith, too, and he could feel a vein in his forehead popping as some cooed while attempting to play with his hair. Lance seemed to be eating up the attention, flexing and showing off his muscles. He looked happy, and that was the point of all this, but Keith couldn’t help the anger gnawing at the pit of his stomach as he watched them.

“We aren’t going to pay for any of your drinks,” Keith snapped, unable to put up with their attention any longer. He took a sip of his own drink as he stared them down with a cold expression. “In fact, he can’t even afford his own drink since he left his jacket in the car. Which means, I’m the one that’s going to have to pick up the tab, and I’m not buying any of you one, so you can just get lost.”

The girls all stared at them, eyeing Keith as they began to leave. Keith stared back, raising an eyebrow as they whispered to each other, giggling before glancing back at him again. “Aw man,” came Lance’s voice, pulling him back from the weird behavior of the girls. Lance was sulking in his chair, with the colorful, half-finished fruit cocktail in his hand. He sipped it, making certain to slurp, as he gave Keith a knowing look. “Jealously thy name is Keith.”

“What?” Keith balked. “What are you even talking about?” He crossed his arms over his chest defensively and his heartbeat began to rise in his chest as he tried to figure out what Lance thought the girls had that he didn’t. “What do I even have to be jealous of?”

Lance rolled his eyes and snorted. “You’re jealous of my skills with the ladies. Don’t try to deny it. You know that you couldn’t get half as many as me on a good day.” Pointing a finger at him, he chuckled. “That’s why you had to scare all of them off. If you would have asked, I would have shared. I’m a good wingman if you let me be.”

“Oh.” Keith blinked owlishly, not certain why that answer shocked him. That made a lot more sense than what originally went through Keith’s mind. “Trust me when I say that there is nothing in this world that will ever make me jealous of you.”

“Whatever,” he said, playing with his straw between his teeth. He blew into it, creating bubbles in the drink. “I was going to ask one of them to dance, you know. Sitting off to the side and drinking isn’t exactly what I had in mind when you suggested we come here.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry about that.” Keith bit his lip, feeling guilt settle inside him. That was what they had come to do, after all. Setting his drink aside, an idea suddenly hit Keith. He rose to his feet so that he could stand in front of Lance. He bowed and offered Lance his hand. “To make it up to you, how about you dance with me then, my prince?”

Red took over Lance’s face, and Keith had to fight the smirk that threatened to find its way onto his lips. “Fine,” Lance said with a pout while taking Keith’s hand gingerly. “But only because I really want to dance, _and_ because you killed my chances with any of the girls here.”

Keith helped Lance to his feet, giving him just enough time to put his drink down before they were making their way out onto the dance floor. When they found a spot, Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s neck as Keith placed his hands on his waist. Keith had to stare up at Lance because of the slight height difference, but for some reason, it pleased him to see the faint blush on Lance’s cheeks. The two of them swayed together, and it wasn’t long before the tightness that had once resided in Keith faded along with everything else going on in the background.

Soon, the song bled into the next, and Lance spread his arms further over Keith’s shoulders so that he could rest his head in the crook of his neck as the slow jazz music played around them. “Thank you,” Keith heard Lance mumble to him. It was barely audible, and if he hadn’t been so close, Keith would have mistaken it for a small grumble.

“What?” he asked in surprise. Keith felt his cheeks grow hot for some reason, and suddenly, he had no clue where to place his hands, realizing that maybe having them on Lance’s waist wasn’t the best idea. He hadn’t noticed before, but now that he did, he knew this was oddly intimate.

“I said I hate you,” Lance clarified loudly. However, instead of pulling back, he seemed to press himself further into Keith, his cheek digging defiantly into Keith’s exposed skin. “You’re such an asshole,” he huffed, sending small vibrations through Keith as he spoke. “I hate you. I’ve never hated anyone so much in my life.”

Keith let go of Lance’s waist so that he could wrap them around him and draw him closer. Despite what he said, Lance didn’t protest, allowing their bodies to melt together as they danced, if that was even what they were doing still. “Can I ask why you hate me? I don’t even know what I did.”

Lance stiffened then shook his head. His hands moved to Keith’s hair, and his head repositioned slightly so that he could watch himself play with the strands. The topic of conversation moved to how Keith needed to get a trim to get rid of his split ends, and Keith allowed it, feeling as if he wouldn’t get anything out of Lance if he pushed. He, instead, let Lance’s rambling wash over him, not finding his voice that annoying tonight. Maybe it was the music or the setting, but a part of Keith didn’t think he would mind the night lasting a little longer, especially if he could continue to hold Lance like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always feel like a Bodyguard AU is incomplete without an arranged marriage, but maybe that's just me.
> 
> Anyway, thank you everyone for leaving kudos and subscribing! It means a lot to me! 
> 
> [Then please check out my tumblr.](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/) I do take prompts.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Microsoft Word is my beta.

Slowly coming into consciousness, Keith groaned slightly as he heard loud banging on the door. He wanted to move, but the press of something against his chest kept him in place. Whatever held him down didn’t feel bad, just a warm mass that stretched across him that made him want to ignore the banging in favor of absorbing the heat a little longer. However, he knew that he couldn’t, so he opened his eyes, preparing to get up, only to freeze when he saw Lance clinging to his chest, snoring lightly and covered in one of his face creams.

The previous night crept back in his mind, and he let out a sigh of relief as he remembered that despite being tipsy last night, Keith didn’t _sleep_ with Lance, only slept with him. After the dance, and a few more drinks, they’d decided that it would be safe to return to the hotel just after midnight. Lance had whined about not wanting to be alone, and for some reason, Keith had obliged him, stripping down to his underclothes without question.

As the banging continued, Keith was surprised that Lance remained asleep, though Lance always had a way of surprising him. He smiled at that thought then ran a hand through Lance’s hair before he gently rolled him off him so that he could get out of bed. For a moment, Keith was tempted to press a kiss into his forehead, but he pushed that thought away, reminding himself that it was just leftover emotions from the odd night that they shared.

Keith got out of bed, noticing how much bigger Lance’s room was than his, which made sense since this was the master bedroom of the suite while Keith’s was just a guest. It was decorated like Keith’s, though, except with a red accent instead of a green. He stared at the mess of clothes that Lance had left, and if it wasn’t for the constant banging, he would have tidied up a bit. Instead, he grabbed a blue robe from the pile, wrapping it around himself and rolling up the sleeves since Lance’s limbs were so much longer than his own.

Yawning, he scratched at his head and went to the door. Keith didn’t really think about the position he was in until he was opening the door to see Matt standing there with a bright smile on his face. He was fully dressed and carrying a decorative basket of kale cookies. With a growl, Keith went to close the door, but Matt pressed his shoulder against it so that he could lean his full weight into it. “Wait! Let me in! All I want to do is talk!” he shouted. “I come with gifts!”

“Why should I let you in here?” Keith asked, glaring at him through the crack in the door, still struggling to get it to close. “The last time I even halfway trusted you, you planted evidence in my apartment and got me arrested for crimes that I didn’t commit. Why would I give you a second chance?”

“Because if I hadn’t planted that evidence, Shiro never would have searched your apartment,” Matt replied, the smile from his face not wavering. Somehow, he was more annoying than Lance. “If Shiro never would have searched your apartment, he never would have found that locket of yours. The two of you never would have known you shared the same father. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have a brother right now.”

“Lucky me... Now let me close the door, Matt.” Keith pressed all his weight into the door. He wasn’t as muscular as Shiro, but he managed. The door began to budge despite Matt’s presence on it. Soon, it clicked shut, and Keith felt satisfied as he locked it again. “Good-bye, Matt. Don’t come back again, got it?”

However, Matt didn’t leave and went back to banging against the door. “Wait! Wait! I have a lead! A good one!” Keith turned to leave and was about to go to the phone to call the front desk about the disturbance, when Matt added, “It’s about your case. The one before you got saddled with Prince Lance. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

Keith froze in place, body feeling tense. If Matt was telling the truth, then this could be his chance to get back on the case, but something didn’t feel right. His eyes flickered to Lance’s room. The door was still open, and he could see Lance sprawled out on the bed, face buried in a pillow. He knew he had a job to do, and that Lance wasn’t as bad as he first thought, only he couldn’t get his last case off his mind.

Turning back around, Keith opened the door, stepping aside to let Matt inside. “If you’re lying, then I’m telling Hunk that you were the one who got me arrested last year. Contract or not, I doubt he’d want to continue working for you if he knew the truth.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m not,” Matt said. He walked into the hotel room, closing the door behind him. “Though, I’m not going to give away this information. It’s got to be a little give and take, you know what I mean? I’m sure you know better than anyone that nothing’s ever free.”

“Yeah, I do.” Keith leaned against the nearest wall. He crossed his arms over his chest while he considered him with a wary gaze. The unassuming nature of Matt had caught Keith off guard once before, and he wasn’t going to let that happen again. “But, I don’t really know what I have that you would want.”

“Actually, you’re the only one who can get me what I want. You can get me and Katie in the same room.” Keith must have scowled since Matt placed his hands up in the air defensively. “Not like that. I’ve given up on getting Future Industries under my control. No, I want to set things right between us. I want to apologize.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you think that I have any control over Pidge? She wouldn’t even let me take one of her cars to your event. I doubt there’s any way for me to convince her to be in the same room as you. You’d be better off asking Allura.”

“Allura already said no, and so did Hunk,” Matt said with a pout. “Come on, Keith. Don’t you want to solve this case instead of babysitting some tribe prince? And it’s not like I’m asking you to give blood, just a meeting. Good or bad, what happens after that is on me.”

Glancing at Lance’s door, Keith saw Lance had shifted positions, lying on his back with his arm over his eyes. He thought about last night and this morning, but it didn’t change how he felt when it came to the case. While he trusted Shiro to investigate what happened to his fullest ability, Keith still couldn’t let go of wanting to be the one to clean up Republic City. Lance was a Water Tribe problem, protecting him would only indirectly help the city he loved.

“Of course, I want to get back on this case more than anything. I’m just wasting my time looking after Prince Lance.” He worried at his lip as he thought over the offer. “Fine,” Keith relented after another moment, “but I’m going to stay in the room the entire time, and you’re giving me this information even if Pidge kicks you out of her warehouse. We have an agreement?”

“We do!” Matt held the kale cookies out to Keith, who reluctantly took them. Keith hated kale cookies, though that might be the reason why Matt brought them. “So, did you want to leave now, or do you need to find a babysitter first?”

“You want to do this today?” When Matt nodded his head, Keith sighed. “Let me think it over.” He didn’t have plans for the day, but he didn’t think he could just force Lance on someone out of the blue. “Once I’m free, I’ll call you from the hotel line. It’s the same number, right?”

“It is,” Matt confirmed, “but don’t take too long on thinking it over. This is a time sensitive lead. I’d hate to think that you missed it just because you took too long. Anyway, I’ll be off now, feverishly awaiting your call. Good-bye, Keith.”

Not returning the farewell, Keith just opened the door for Matt, allowing him to step outside before he slammed the door behind him. Keith then made his way back into the living area and placed the basket of disgusting kale cookies on the coffee table between the overstuffed couches before he made his way to the desk where the phone sat. There was a menu next to it, listing everything that Keith could get for breakfast. Since the Northern Water Tribe was paying, Keith didn’t feel guilty about running up a bill.

Keith was trying to decide between scrambled arctic hen eggs or smoked sea slug when he heard movement behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Lance making his way into the room. Lance had changed face masks, going from a cream-colored one to green, and was still in his blue silk pajamas, which matched the robe that Keith had stolen from him. His movements were sluggish and gaze morose as he neared the couch, plopping himself down before he grabbed the basket of kale cookies then began to show them into his mouth, chewing on them thoughtfully.

Wrinkling his nose, Keith was disgusted by the way he seemed to be enjoying the bland snack food, but Lance wasn’t paying attention to him in favor of staring off into space. “Hey, is everything okay?” he asked, not certain why he cared, but he did.

“I’ve been thinking,” Lance said, and Keith had to hold his tongue against the smart comment that formed, reminding himself that wouldn’t be a good thing to say right now given Lance’s somber tone. “This arrangement that we have isn’t really working out, so I’ve decided to talk to Chief Shirogane and ask him for a different person to ‘babysit’ me.”

Keith winced. “You overheard my conversation with Matt?” Lance touched the tip of his nose as confirmation, shoving another cookie into his mouth. “Why didn’t you say that you were awake? It’s rude to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, you know.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lance huffed, finally turning his head so he could focus his anger onto Keith, “I should have let you know that I was listening so you could have made plans to saddle me with someone else in private. What a complete breach in etiquette. How will I ever live with myself?”

“Fine, you got me there, but you have to understand what a waste of my time this is.” Keith saw Lance bristle, but he couldn’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth. “I’m a police detective. I’m supposed to be solving crimes, getting criminals off the streets. Acting as your bodyguard is preventing me from doing that. As much as I want the Water Tribe Civil War to end, there are other people that could watch you, people better trained than me.”

“Then I’ll just call Chief Shirogane up and get you reassigned.” Lance nibbled on another cookie, and Keith was certain he was going to be sick if he watched him eat another one. “I mean, I’d be justified. I can just tell him about the pie incident, and then that it _was_ your fault we got into that fight with the terrorists. You’re really a shit bodyguard.”

While Keith knew that Lance was saying the truth, it didn’t stop the comment from getting under his skin. Keith marched over as Lance grabbed another cookie and tried to wrangle the basket from his grasp. Lance fought back, tugging at the basket with the same amount of force while extending a leg to press against Keith’s stomach to push him back. As he did so, he tried to shove another cookie in his mouth while his eyes locked onto Keith’s. Either he knew what affect the cookies were having, or he was just trying to be defiant, as always. Regardless, Keith wasn’t going to let him win and reached out so that he could pin Lance’s wrist against the couch.

The two continued to struggle with the basket. Neither was willing to give, only the basket had other plans in mind as its handle ripped, sending cookies flying. With the sudden loss of force, Keith lurched forward, hand catching on the headrest of the couch. His face was inches from Lance’s, enough that he could see each individual eyelash as they fluttered rapidly while Lance blinked in surprise. He licked his lips, tempted to do something, but he wasn’t certain what. His heart beat rapidly, much like it did back when they were fighting the terrorists.

Lance exhaled, and Keith smelled the kale cookies on his breath, allowing him to regain control of himself. “Can you just try to see where I’m coming from?” Keith asked, though he didn’t pull back. “Don’t pretend like you wouldn’t feel the same way if our situations were reversed.”

“Then let me help you.” Lance let go of the broken basket, bringing his free hand up to grip Keith’s wrist. There was a pleading look in his eyes, and it was almost painful to stare into them. “If we work together then you can get back to saving the city sooner, the sooner you can get away from looking after me. I’m not useless. You know I’m not.”

“You’re not a police detective, though,” Keith protested. “You want to fight terrorists and all that then, yeah, you can go talk to Allura, you can join Team Avatar. I’m not going to stop you. This is different. I had to work hard to become one. You can’t just-”

Keith didn’t get to finish his sentence as Lance’s leg, which had still been resting on his stomach, kicked him roughly. He was winded for a second, and that was all Lance needed to shift them so that their positions were reversed. Lance pressed Keith into the couch, grinning as he held Keith’s wrists over his head.

“You can’t just what?” Lance said, practically purring. Keith could see him mentally preening for getting the better of him. “I’m not asking for a badge, Keith, or anything after this. All I want is to do right by my people, and I can’t do that if I have something holding me back.”

“Now I’m the one holding you back?” Keith raised an eyebrow and scowled, even though he could see the logic in his words. “And doing right by your people doesn’t have to mean marrying some complete stranger. I really was just trying to stop them from pressuring you into a decision that wouldn’t solve anything.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, but sure, I’ll keep that in mind.” Lance pulled back a bit, though his hands remained on Keith’s wrists. “Though, Keith, if you want out, you can have out, and if you let me help you, you’ll have out much sooner than if you did it alone. That’s what you want, right? You want out?”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Gripping the back of the couch, Keith sighed and tried not to think of the picture they made with Lance on top of him, straddling his hips like this. “Matt made it clear that he didn’t want you there at the meeting. It’s not like you can help with that.”

“Then give me something else to do. Maybe you can give me some leads to track down with Allura.” A bright smile appeared on Lance’s face, and somehow all Keith felt was sorrow when he looked at it. “If you do, we’ll get you out of my hair and back on the street. Just trust me.”

“All right.” Keith sighed. “Fine, I trust you.” He didn’t know why he did, but despite how he behaved, Lance hadn’t let him down yet. “After breakfast, I’ll write down some places where I suspected things were going down before the reassignment then you can check those places out while I’m at the meeting with Matt.”

Lance hummed, looking pleased with himself as Keith gave into his demands. He leaned forward, pressing against Keith’s chest as Lance’s chin found its way to the nape of his neck. “Just worry about you. I already have my breakfast.” His voice sounded low and oddly seductive. Keith blushed, wondering what was going to happen until he heard a crunch and felt crumbs drop onto his skin.

Annoyed, Keith reached back and took the cookie out of Lance’s hand so that he could toss it clear across the room. He ignored Lance’s grumbled protest, pushing him off him so that he could get up and make his way towards the phone. Maybe it was petty, but he made certain to step on as many kale cookies as possible, wanting to break them before Lance could shove them in his mouth, not certain he could stomach his breakfast if he had to watch him eat another one.

* * *

As Keith drove with Matt in one of his Gunderson Cars, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from turning to Lance. He’d left him with Allura and her snow leopard caribou, Voltron, so that they could track down the leads that Keith gave him. While he trusted Allura, a knot had begun to form in his stomach the moment they rode off down the street that he should have gone with them. Maybe it was because Allura was still angry at Lance about the incidents revolving around the Water Tribe, or it could be that Keith hated Matt that much, but in all honesty, Keith couldn’t get the images of Lance diving in front of Coran out of his head.

There wasn’t anything he could do about it now, though. The plan was to get the lead out of Matt, and that was what he had to do. Besides, it would be good for them to finally discuss what happened in the past, with part of Keith hoping that Pidge obliterated Matt, finally ending him for good. Keith wasn’t that lucky, but he couldn’t stop himself from entertaining the thought. He continued thinking of all the ways that could lead to Matt’s early demise until they reached the private warehouse where Pidge did all her inventing. She used to work in the factory, but it became too hard to after her father’s betrayal.

Keith parked the car in front of the warehouse, watching Matt hop out from the passenger seat with a little more bounce than usual. “Remember to wait out here,” Keith said, even though he was ninety percent certain Matt wasn’t listening. “I’ll give you the signal when I’ve broached the subject with Pidge, got it?”

“Of course I do.” Matt gave Keith a wink before shooting him with finger guns. “With you all the way.” It was clear that he didn’t get it in the slightest bit but correcting him seemed more work than it was worth, especially since Keith had spent the entire car ride trying to drive the plan into that thick skull of his.

Deciding the best course of action was to ignore him, Keith made his way to the door of the warehouse, knocking while saying “It’s me, Keith,” before entering. The warehouse, though large, looked small due to all the cluttered with different pieces of machinery scattered all over the place, half-finished projects lying in stasis as Pidge moved from one project to the other. Some finished machines hung suspended from the ceiling, waiting for testing and use.

Since Keith didn’t see Pidge in the work area, he moved towards the backroom where he knew she designed all her plans. Keith opened the door, and as expected, Pidge was standing in front of the room with different draft designs hanging from the wall while she turned to exam each one while her table of tools and parts lay out in front of her, waiting for use. A grease smudge stood out against her pale cheeks, which trailed down to the green jumpsuit she was wearing. She pulled her long, amber hair out of its ponytail, readjusted it before she did the same with her glasses. Pidge hadn’t noticed Keith as she stared at a design with wings, and Keith felt his stomach drop as he tried to work up the courage to get her attention, finding himself suddenly speechless.

It was easy to forget how hard Pidge worked, how hard she fought for her company. Keith remembered after her father’s betrayal, when she was trying to gain control of Future Industries again, how the investors had wanted her to identify as a boy, even though she was a girl. He remembered how some left, how she struggled to make ends meet. It reminded him of Matt, how he’d offered to help with that, only to try to take control of the company from her. Selling Pidge out for a lead was wrong, and he took a step back, intent on leaving so that he could tell Matt that she said no.

However, Keith wasn’t that lucky as Pidge’s soft, brown eyes were suddenly on him, a smile on her face as she said, “Keith, hey!” The greeting was warm and friendly, one that he didn’t deserve. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have babysitting duty?”

“Lance decided to spend some quality time with Allura today,” Keith told her. It wasn’t a lie, but for some reason, it felt like one. “Since I had the free time, I thought that I’d check on you to see how you were doing, but I can see that you’re busy, so I think I’ll come back some other time.”

“I was just refining some designs.” Her eyes flickered back over to a couple of designs before she sighed. “It’d be nice if Hunk was free more. I’d really like to get his opinion on a few things. He’s really the only one I trust with this. No offense. I know you’re good with your bike, but it’s different with this.”

“Yeah, I get you. I don’t understand even half this stuff.” Keith looked at the different plans. It might as well have been coded as far as he was concerned. “Maybe you could talk to Matt. I know you guys have a bit of bad blood, but he is Hunk’s employer-”

“Only because he roped him into some shitty contract.” Pidge looked angry as she placed her hands on her hip, growling slightly as she ground her teeth. Her fists clenched, and she brought them up as if expecting a fight. “If I ever see him again then I’ll take one of my wrenches and beat him with it until he’s a mangled corpse!”

While Keith wanted to turn around and shove Matt back into the car at that, Matt had other plans as he walked into the room, not seeming to possess a shred of self-preservation instincts if the smile he wore was anything to go by. “Hey, I heard my-” He didn’t get to finish as Pidge picked up a wrench off the table behind her then hurled it at him, nailing Matt in the forehead to cause him to go down like a cart of cabbages.

“Bitch, did you think I was kidding!?” Pidge screamed at him as she picked up another wrench then went to stalk forward. Thankfully, even after all these years, Keith was still taller than her, and he grabbed her by the armpits to restrain her. She fought against him, legs kicking uselessly as she tried to escape. “Let me go! Allura will cover for me! It’ll never make it to court!”

“Pidge, calm down,” Keith said, grunting as he struggled against her. “He just wants to talk. Hear him out.” Looking up at him, Pidge cast Keith a look of angry betrayal over her shoulder, and he thought she would turn her attack on him, so he added quickly, “And if you don’t like what he has to say then I’ll help you dispose of the body, promise.”

That seemed to do it as she stopped fighting and relaxed in Keith’s arms. He let her go and she crossed her arms over her chest while she watched Matt writhe on the floor, clutching his head in pain. “This had better be the best ‘talk’ in the entire world if you want to keep breathing.” She shot a glare up at Keith. “The both of you.”

“It is,” Matt said, through his teeth, still sounding pained. He shakily got to his feet, looking as if he was going to collapse at any second. A large bruise was forming where the wrench hit, and some blood trickled down the side of his cheek, causing Keith to wince slightly at it. “I wanted to tell you that I’m going to make it up to you. I’m a better person now, a changed man. What I did was wrong, and I want to atone.”

“Atone?” Pidge huffed then spat on the ground. “That’s what I think of atoning. Dad keeps writing to me from prison, telling me that he wants to ‘atone’ for what he did, for helping Zarkon and his Equalist Movement. It doesn’t change the fact that there’s now a civil war and blackspot on our family’s name.” She shook her head in disgust. “And what you did was worse. At least he believed in something, even if it was all a lie. You- You war mongered. You profited by selling to both sides. How could I ever forgive you for that?”

To Keith’s surprise, Matt appeared genuinely distressed by Pidge’s words. His jaw was set in a hardline, and though his head dipped, there were clear tears stinging at the corner of his eyes. “I know. I know what I did was wrong. At the time, all I could think about was surviving, even though I had been for years. I guess I lost myself in all of it. That’s why I’ve stopped funding the North, stopped selling weapons in general. I want to fix my mistake!”

“It was one mistake out of many!” She took a step forward, and Keith wondered if he should stop her. He didn’t, though he did tense, ready to move in case she started beating Matt with her wrench. “How are you going to make up for everything that you’ve done to me? To this family?”

“What do you want me to say, Katie? That I’m sorry?” Matt ran hand through his hair. “Because I am sorry. I’m sorry that I tried to buy Future Industries from you. I would give anything to take that back! I’m so damn sorry for everything. Please tell me how to make it up to you.”

Pidge made a disgruntled sound in the back of her throat. “I don’t care about Future Industries, not in the way that you’re saying. Yeah, you tried to buy them from me, but I get that. If your company was on the bends, I’d have made the same move.” She looked off to the side, head bobbing as she considered her words. “I can’t believe you don’t even know why we’re fighting. This is so typical of you.”

Matt took another step closer, then another until they were only a few inches apart. “Then tell me why we’re fighting,” he begged. “How can I ever begin to make amends if I don’t even know what I’m making amends for? I want to get better, Katie. I want to be the brother you deserve.”

Pidge’s head snapped to Matt, focusing all her anger in one gaze. “We’re fighting because you escaped your kidnappers, started your own company, and you didn’t even tell us!” Pidge shouted, shoving her finger into his chest. “You left me to deal with Dad, too! You didn’t have to deal with his betrayal! You didn’t have to bear the press dragging our family name through the mud or the investors leaving!” She clenched her other hand tighter around the wrench, nails digging into her palm hard enough that it might bleed. “And I looked everywhere for you. I spared no expense trying to save you, but- but you were fine. You didn’t need me to save you after all...”

Tears began to flow down Pidge’s cheeks, so Matt closed the distance between them to pull her into a tight hug. His hand stroked her hair, not saying a word as he let her cry out her frustrations at him. Keith watched, and suddenly the moment felt too private for him to continue standing there. On top of that, he did feel some jealousy. His reunion with Shiro hadn’t gone like that. He had said that he hadn’t wanted anything over-the-top and heartwarming, but it was more of a lie he told himself, assuming he couldn’t miss what he didn’t have.

Keith excused himself, though he didn’t think either of them noticed. He made his way out of the warehouse, leaning against the side while shoving a hand in his jacket pocket. His other hand went up to his neck, fiddling with the locket as a nervous habit while he stared off into the skyline of Republic City. It made him think of his mother, wondering what she had been like. His father said she died, though Keith didn’t know how. He doubted he’d ever know now that his father was dead, too.

A door opening pulled Keith from his thoughts, and he turned his head to see Matt exiting the warehouse. His eyes were red and puffy, but he didn’t have any other injuries, which Keith took as a good sign. “Here,” Matt said, reaching into his breast jacket to pull out a slip of paper from one of the pockets. “This is the lead, right from Shiro’s home files. It’s all happening tomorrow, but he’s too busy with the terrorist attacks to chase it down, so don’t worry about running into him there.”

“Thanks,” Keith said, taking the paper when Matt handed it to him. He opened it, seeing that it was an address and time but nothing else. Still, he didn’t question it as he pocketed it. “How is Pidge doing? I’m guessing that she’s not intent on mangling your corpse any longer since you’re still alive.”

“Well, it’s more than I deserve, but I think she might be on her way to forgiving me,” Matt said, walking past Keith and towards the car. He seemed happy, even though the lump on his head had swelled to the size of Keith’s fist. “Is there anywhere I can drop you off, by the way?”

Keith shook his head. “My bike is parked here, so I’m just going to drive it back. I’m tired of borrowing everyone’s car, you know?” He shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t really a lie, since he hated having to get rides from everyone, though it was also because he didn’t want any more business with Matt. Pidge might be on her way to forgiving him, but Keith wanted to hold onto the grudge a bit longer.

* * *

Riding his motorcycle through the city streets made Keith feel at ease. It helped him clear his head, and when he approached the Four Elements Hotel, he almost turned so that he could continue his ride before having to go back to deal with everything. Not that dealing with Lance was as horrible as he once thought, but he could be trying, and part of him worried that there would be more kale cookies waiting when he got back to the room. However, he knew that he couldn’t avoid him forever, so he parked his motorcycle and made his way up to the room.

Lance was waiting for him on the couch when Keith walked inside. He was snoring lightly, head tilted back with his arms splayed out along the headrest while his feet rested on the coffee table. Keith moved towards him, hand subconsciously going to Lance’s hair as he passed. His gaze went to his feet, and as expected, there was a gilded pink box with the name of an expensive sweet’s shop on it sitting there. He picked up the box and moved to the trash can. However, Keith paused when he opened it, frowning as he saw fire gummies resting there instead of the kale cookies he was expecting.

“The shop clerk said they were popular in the Fire Nation districts,” Lance’s voice sounded behind him. He yawned loudly, and Keith looked over his shoulder in time to see him stretch, shirt pulling up to reveal the taut muscles of his stomach. “When did you get back?”

“Just now,” Keith said, turning around so that he could face Lance. He fiddled with the lid of the box, staring down at the fire gummies inside. “Thanks for these, though. And- I guess I’m sorry for this morning. I went overboard with the kale cookies.”

Lance hummed, which slowly turned into a purr that shivers down Keith’s spine. “It’s fine. I like it when you get possessive. It makes me feel wanted.” He gave him a playful wink, and Keith could feel heat begin to rise in his cheeks without his permission. Chuckling, Lance said, “I’m just kidding. I was being a bit of a jerk, too, since I knew you don’t like them. Sorry, man.”

“They’re just cookies.” Keith wasn’t even certain why he had acted the way he did. Something about Lance made logic go out the window. He shrugged non-committedly, deciding a change of topic would be best before he thought too hard on his reasons for that morning. “So, yeah, anyway, Matt gave me a lead. What about you? Anything in the places I told you to check out?”

“Nothing, and I mean nothing. The places were scrubbed clean.” Lance tapped his fingers against the bare skin of his stomach, and Keith had to fight to keep his eyes locked on his face. “Like, I didn’t really know what we were looking for, but Allura seemed to think it was suspicious. She said everything was _too_ clean, especially that sewage drain you sent us to go see. She’s going to look into some things on her end.”

“At least we have Allura on our side, that’s a relief.” With everything going on, it felt good to know that Allura still had his back. Keith knew it had to be stressful with the civil war, so her aid wasn’t unappreciated. “Hopefully with her and Matt’s lead, we’ll be able to close the case soon.”

“Hopefully,” Lance muttered with a sad sigh. He stretched and rose to his feet, stretching again with an exaggerated yawn that once against caused his shirt to rise and reveal his chest. “Well, I’m beat. I guess we’ll continue in the morning. Night, Keith.”

“Good night, Lance,” Keith replied softly. Lance tossed him a smile at that before he began to saunter towards his bedroom. He paused, as if expecting something, but when it didn’t happen, he continued at a quicker pace, closing the door with a bit more force than needed.

Keith blinked, not certain what had transpired between the two of them just now, but it felt as if he had done something wrong, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. He felt as if Lance’s emotions would always be a mystery to him. Still, Lance was right. They needed an early start to prepare properly for the lead that Matt gave him. So, he popped one of the fire gummies into his mouth, humming at the sweet flavor of the red beans inside, before he went off to bed, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Everything doubled since my last update! Thank you so much everyone! I honestly cannot thank you enough for reading my fan fiction! I really hope you continue to enjoy it!
> 
> [Please check out my tumblr!](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/) I would really appreciate it if you did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betaed by Microsoft Word this is.

Riding with Lance on the back of his motorcycle was uncomfortable. Keith could hear him screaming at him to stop through the helmet as Lance clung to him, chest pressing tightly against Keith’s back. So, maybe Keith shouldn’t have taken that turn as tight as he did, but he honestly felt as if it was that food cart’s fault for crossing when it did. Keith had missed the cart only because the vendor stopped at the last minute, though it still sent seaweed noodles everywhere.

When they finally reached their destination, Lance’s nails were digging into Keith’s signature red jacket. He ripped off his helmet so that he could glare at Keith properly. “Where did you learn how to drive!?” he demanded, and Keith noticed that he looked paler than normal. It was hard to take his anger seriously as bits of his hair stuck up at odd angles on his head.

Keith took off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair, though he didn’t need it since, unlike Lance, not a hair had been out of place. “I taught myself,” Keith told him. “It wasn’t as if there was anyone around to teach me. I didn’t have tutors like you did. Everything I learned, I learned on my own.”

Lance narrowed his eyes at him, glaring at him, though his eyeline was a bit off, and it seemed as if he was more glowering at Keith’s hair. “I didn’t have tutors either. Don’t go making assumptions just because I’m a tribe prince.” Lance’s hands went to his hair, trying to smooth it down in the way he’d styled it this morning but was having little luck. “Damn it.”

“Here, let me help,” Keith said, placing a hand on Lance’s shoulder to steady him. He then spit into his hand, like how he used to do with Hunk when they were back in the orphanage together, and extended it towards Lance. A scandalized gasp rang out from Lance, and he tried to move away from him, only Keith held tight as he fixed Lance’s hair.

“Did you just-?” Lance began, eyes wide with horror. He slapped at Keith’s hand, but Keith slapped back, determined to finish his work. “Do you- Do you just spit into everyone’s hair? Do you know how unsanitary that is? That is disgusting. That is- There are no words. It’s just-”

Keith ignored Lance and fiddled with his hair for a few more seconds before pulling back to admire his work. He grinned, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Come on, look how cute I made you,” Keith said happily, holding up his helmet so that Lance could look at the reflective visor. “Besides, Hunk never complained when I did it.”

A bright red blossomed on Lance’s cheeks as he stared at Keith with a slack expression, and it seemed to take him a while to realize that Keith was holding his helmet up to him. Lance leaned forward when he did, the blush never leaving him as he stared at his reflection in the mirrored visor, giving himself a wink before he pulled back. “I guess I do look pretty cute.” He wrinkled his nose. “But that doesn’t change how disgusting that was.”

“Sorry,” Keith muttered, wiping his hands on his pants, feeling awkward suddenly. He shifted and coughed, not certain what to say. “So, uh, yeah, we should probably get to the address that Matt gave me so that we can canvas the area, find the best place to set up surveillance. Maybe get a few snacks to take with us.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Lance coughed, too, then again before he rose off the motorcycle on to the sidewalk where Keith had parked. It was surprisingly crowded, and Lance had to practically lean against Keith’s bike so that he wouldn’t get trampled by the fast-moving crowd.

Keith joined Lance, taking the helmet from him so that he could place them on the handles of the motorcycle. They then walked into the crowd, Keith leading the way. Since there was barely any space, their arms brushed and scrapped against each other, sending an electric through Keith, reminding him almost of the times where he worked as a lightning-bender for power company. It was distracting, and when they found a place to set up surveillance, he was going to make certain that there was plenty of space between them.

Only, as they turned the corner, Keith couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his stomach as he stared out at the blocked off street and the park across from it. Tents of various colors were set up throughout the area in neat rows with crowds of people roaming the thoroughfare. He could see some rides in the distance, especially a large observation wheel.

“Hey, this is like when we went to the Glacier Spirit Festival,” Lance said excitedly, as he glanced from Keith to the faire. “Man, I didn’t get to go to the last one, due to the civil war and all, but the year before that was great. Do you remember?”

Keith hummed low in his throat. “Yeah, I do. I remember that I had to spend the whole time with your sister after we split up. It was really annoying. She practically clung to me.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lance scowl, mood shifting. “Not that she wasn’t nice. I did win her a stuffed air bison, but I had been hoping to spend time with my friends, not drag her around.”

“You seem to do that a lot, drag around Water Tribe royalty.” Lance’s voice was cold as he spoke, reminding Keith of the look Lance gave him when they first met at the pier. “I’m sorry that my family is such an inconvenience to you.”

Reaching out, Keith grabbed Lance’s wrist. Lance glared at him, looking as if he was about to hit him, but Keith sped on, “I’m sorry. It wasn’t- I didn’t mean to insult your sister.” Lance’s gaze narrowed, though the tension in his shoulders did relax slightly. “It was annoying because I’m not good with dealing with people. She really was nice. I did enjoy myself. I promise.”

Lance blinked once then again before he burst out laughing. His eyes looked sad despite his smile as he said, “You’re such an idiot, did you know that, Keith?” He reached up and ruffled Keith’s hair, only it fell back into place, as perfect as ever. “I was just messing around. I don’t even talk with her anymore, so it’s no big deal.”

“You don’t talk to Luxia?” That was news to Keith, though it did seem as if Hunk was more clued in on what was going on in Lance’s life. Keith did wonder how the two had become so close. It was Matt’s fault for having him arrested that he didn’t know. “Is that why you’re not becoming tribe chief with her?”

Wincing, Lance turned his attention from Keith, scanning over the crowd. “We should really get to work.” The response answered Keith’s question as much as it didn’t, letting him know whatever the reason was that it hit a nerve with Lance. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Should we split up?”

While Keith debated the merits of pressing the issue with Lance about his past, Keith decided it would be best to allow him to drop the topic again. “No, we wouldn’t be able to find each other again in this crowd, and it’s not like we have that radio transmitter that Shiro has. It’d be best if we stuck together one this one.”

“Then I guess we’re sticking together.” Lance glanced down where Keith was still holding his wrist. His eyebrows wiggled at him as an easy smirk flittered across his lips. “So, are we doing the whole pretend boyfriend bit? Because, I hear those make good covers.”

Keith let go of Lance’s wrist, crossing his arms over his chest. “It was just because you looked like you were going to run off.” He huffed indignantly, but that only seemed to make the grin on Lance’s face grow. “And no, we’re not pretending to be ‘boyfriends’. I don’t know where you heard that, but it’s not what real detectives do. Just stay close and try not to look suspicious.”

“You’re no fun,” Lance whined. He placed his arms behind his head with a huff. “Though, you’re the expert. The super cop. The man with the badge. The fire-bender with the-” Keith shot him a confused look. “I just mean that I’m going to follow your lead since you know what you’re doing. So, you know, lead.”

While Keith still didn’t know what Lance meant, he walked forward, and Lance walked in pace beside him. The festival was crowded. It was taking place in an Earth Kingdom district, so it had to be one of their celebrations. He wondered if Shiro would know what they were doing, but he quickly shook that thought from his head. If he began thinking about his brother then he might get sidetracked, and with so many people around, that would only hinder his investigation.

Scanning over the crowd, Keith tried to look for anyone doing something that might be suspicious. It was hard to tell what was and what wasn’t. There were exchanges going on all over from the food vendors to the shop stalls. He saw some people exchanging money, but it seemed as if they were only getting a Nuktuk mask, a Platt one, who was the chubbiest of Hunk’s pet mice. Lance stopped to get a set of mice masks for Hunk, making certain to have an extra-long conversation with the shop clerk before they moved on.

It bothered him that Lance seemed to be stopping at almost every booth, loading up on the fried goods that they were offering. He’d chatted up several of the shop clerks, which annoyed Keith, as he tried to remain focused on the crowd, trying to see if he recognized any faces. It bothered him that Lance wasn’t doing the same, intent more on having fun than solving the case. He’d known that it was a mistake to let someone so inexperienced come along, but for some reason, when they were back at the hotel, it had seemed like a good idea.

Lance grinned as he pointed at the booth off in the distance. “Hey!” he shouted, causing some fragments of the crab puffs he was chewing on to fly out and cling to the back the head of the person in front of them. “A darts game! That is right up my alley! I’ve got the best aim, like you wouldn’t believe.”

“We don’t have time for this, Lance. We’ve got to find that meeting point.” Though, at this point, Keith was starting to think that Matt had lied about the lead just so that he could get someone to help him with Pidge. “And there’s so much more ground to explore.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got us covered,”’ he said, swinging the shopping bags in his hands as if that explained everything. “Besides, I want to win something for you. You’re not carrying anything, so you’re the one who looks suspicious. They’ll either think we’re poor or up to something, and I’m dressed in designer clothes, Keith. They won’t come to that conclusion, so let me win you some cheap crap, at least as a cover.”

While Keith wanted to poke holes in Lance’s logic, he couldn’t find any, realizing that he looked more strange as everyone at the festival had something in their arms. “Fine.” He paused then reached out, taking the last crab puff from the paper plate that Lance was holding. “But you only get one shot at this so make it count.”

Lance gave him the thumbs-up before he began dashing towards the game. Keith followed at a slow pace, realizing that at some point that Lance had begun leading him around the festival instead of the other way around. He approached behind Lance, watching him slap some yuan down on the counter. As the man exchanged the money for darts, Lance placed his bags down on the ground before he began shake his hands and stretch his arms in an exaggerated manner that had the game master giving him odd looks.

The game itself seemed simple, all one had to do was knock over the targets. However, the targets moved and spun, each a different shape and size. Some looked like animals, other looked like machines, while others seemed to be just shapes. They had numbers written on them, which seemed to be the point values. Keith had no doubt in his mind that the game was rigged, though, and would bet money that some of the targets were glued down so that the darts bounced off them.

“Okay, so pick a prize,” Lance said, scanning the stuff animals that were strapped to a net hanging above the booth. They varied in size from larger than Keith to smaller than the size of his hand. “Pick any prize that you want and that’s the one I’ll win for you.”

Since he didn’t have much faith in Lance’s throwing skills or the legitimacy of the booth, Keith pointed to the top prize, a large, red saber-tooth moose lion. “That one,” he said with a smirk. “Because it’s going to be fun to see you fail.”

Lance winked at Keith, which made his cheeks feel hot. “Oh, you wish.” Weighing them in his hand, Lance narrowed his eyes at the targets, flickering to the ones with the most points. His fingers curled around the darts, swinging his hand in a practiced motion as he got a feel for them. He then threw the darts, one after the other in quick succession. Each landed with a crack as the wood that held the targets splintered and snapped back from the sheer force of Lance’s throw. Even if they were glued down, there was no debating that Lance had hit them. “Well, my good sir, give my companion his prize.”

The game master grumbled and complained under his breath as he reached up to grab the prize that Keith had pointed out at the start. While Lance collected his bags, Keith took the over-sized toy reluctantly, feeling awkward as he wrapped his arms around it. It was almost as big as him with huge antlers and stuffed teeth about the size of Keith’s fist. He clung to it as much as he could while they walked away from the booth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the smug look on Lance’s face, which made him want to smother Lance with the plush.

“You were pretty cocky back there,” Keith said, though his voice sounded muffled due to all the fur that was in his face. “I’m guessing you were trained in knife throwing?” He glanced over Lance with consideration, noticing the smug look on his face growing. “Not that I’m impressed. Just curious since you literally murdered those targets.”

“I’m a sharpshooter, baby,” Lance teased with a smug grin. The urge to smother Lance began to rise as Keith felt heat grow on his cheeks, glad the stuffed animal blocked Lance’s view. “As for the training, it wasn’t anything formal. Father was a bit strict, only viewed water-bending as a worthy fighting style. So I picked up what I could, and what I could was sharpshooting. It was something I could practice in my own time, too, so added benefit.”

“What’s so wrong about water-bending?” Tilting his head to the side, Keith tried to imagine what that had to be like to grow up with a father like that. It was hard for him to picture anyone except his own father, even though he barely remembered him. “It seems more useful than a couple of blades.”

“Everyone thinks bending is the best, but I can’t find myself really agreeing.” Lance sighed deeply while rubbing the back of his neck, accidentally hitting himself with his bags in the process. “I know I sound like an Equalist, still they had some points. This is a hard world to live in for those who are non-benders, don’t you think?”

“I know non-benders who have made it work, though,” Keith argued. “I mean, Pidge’s father, for one, built his company from the ground up.” He paused. “Okay, bad example, but there are a lot of non-benders in the city that have good lives here. A lot of these shop clerks are non-benders, and there are some non-benders on the police force, too.”

“Then explain why so much of the homeless population is comprised of non-benders. And what about-” He cut himself off, pursing his lips as he placed his hands behind his head, careful not to hit himself with his bags this time. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make this into a social discussion or anything. We’ve got more important things to do than discuss politics.”

“Actually, I kind of like it.” The way Lance’s eyes widened conveyed the amount of surprise Keith felt that he meant every word he said. “I like hearing your opinion. It’s a good one when you’re not being conceited and childish. You should speak your mind more. I think you could have been really helpful in the council meeting.”

Lance blushed, with even his ears turning a bright red. He mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he turned his head away from Keith, looking embarrassed. Keith let out a small chuckle that made the red in Lance’s ears deepen. It was cute in a way that Keith didn’t want to admit since it would be unprofessional and would mean that Lance was growing on him.

As they walked, the conversation moved away from social issues to the different stalls they passed, though Keith didn’t let them stop at any. Keith began to turn down towards a row of food stalls, but before he could do so, Lance grabbed his elbow so that he could steer him in the other direction, towards where the rides had been assembled.

“The meeting’s this way,” Lance said, dragging Keith along by his sleeve. “Weren’t you listening? The mask shop owner heard from the fried dough vendor who heard it from the kale juice seller that they clearly heard that there was something going down with the ride operators. They all didn’t trust the observation wheel operator, but that could have been because he slept with the kale vendor’s sister. But, the crab puff vendor told me that it was his twin brother, the carousel operator, who actually slept with her. The blade vendor told me, weirdly enough, that they’re having twins. Gasp, right?”

Keith blinked, trying to process what Lance had said to him. “Wait, what? Who’s having a baby? And what about the fried dough vendor? Are they the ones that are having the baby?” Lance was still dragging him, not letting go of his arm. “You’re not making any sense. Just stop for a minute and explain what’s going on.”

Lance let out a frustrated sigh, but he did stop to so that he could turn to face Keith. “Gez, don’t you listen to people? The kale juice vendor’s sister is having twins with the carousel operator, but thinks she’s having it with the observation wheel operator. Still, everyone agrees that the wheel operator has been acting suspicious, so we’ve been heading that way.”

“I listen!” Keith pulled his arm out of Lance’s grip, though it was difficult because of the stuffed animal he was holding. “You just weren’t making any sense, and I guess I didn’t really take all that gossip to heart. It’s just gossip, after all.” His lips thinned and eyebrows knit together. “But, I guess since we don’t have any other leads, we can check it out quickly. If it doesn’t pan out, then it we wouldn’t have wasted much time.”

“What’s with you? I trust in my people skills,” Lance insisted. He stared at Keith before his shaking his head. “Whatever, though. It’s not like it’s going to matter once we get the information out of this guy, so let’s get going. They told me it was this way.”

Pointing in a direction, Lance began to make his way through the crowd, and Keith followed behind him. The ride section of the festival was less organized than the vendor stalls with rides spread out more in terms of space needed and popularity to make room for lines. It was more packed here, too, with children screaming as they ran from one line to the next or couples holding hands. Keith found himself subconsciously shifting closer to Lance, since he was put off by the larger crowd.

They made their way to the observational wheel, getting in line with the rest of the crowd. Slowly, they moved forward, creeping to the front at a snail sloth’s pace. Keith tapped his foot anxiously, wanting the line to move quickly. They only had so much time before the meeting took place, and if they weren’t there when it was going down then coming here would be for nothing. Part of him wanted to pull out his badge to force his way to the front, but he kept his temper, knowing he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Lance if he did.

Another couple of minutes passed, and finally, the two of them could see the front of the line. They stood on the stairs leading up to the platform that loaded everyone onto the observation wheel. Keith peeked around the people in front of them at the wheel operator. At that moment, the wheel operator looked at Keith, and a look of recognition crossed over his face even though Keith was certain he had never seen the other man before now. He didn’t give Keith much time to think as he pushed the lever forward on the machinery before he hopped over the ledge of the platform and took off running.

People screamed, and while the wheel wasn’t spinning out of control, loud creaking could be heard as stress was placed on the gears. “I’ll get the people on the wheel,” Lance said, as he began to push people out the way to make his way up the rest of the platform. Over his shoulder, he yelled at Keith. “Take that bastard down. I’ll catch up once everyone is safe.”

Keith nodded his head, dropped the ridiculous plush, and then leapt off the stairs so that he could begin his chase. He glanced over his shoulder, watching Lance struggle with the stuck lever. Still, Keith trusted Lance, so he focused his attention back on the man in front of him, who was pushing people out of the way recklessly. However, Keith didn’t stop to help any of the people up, and practically leapt over them as he pursued his target.

The man darted between the rides. As they turned the corner, they began to run through the backstage area where the operators and vendors took their breaks. Since it was less populated and the ground less grassy, Keith decided that this was his chance. He used his fire to launch himself into the air. Without his tactical armor, it was easy to become airborne and keep his balance, allowing him to shoot after the man running without any resistance.

Keith tackled the man to the ground with a grunt. He was panting as he forced the man’s hands behind his back. “Now, you’re going to tell me why you were running from me, and how you recognized me when we’ve never met.”

The man growled and struggled against his grip. Still Keith held tight, not allowing the man much room to move. “You don’t have the authority to do this,” the man sneered. “You’re on babysitting duty for the tribe prince. You have to let me go.”

“I still have my badge,” Keith said, pulling it out to show it to him quickly before pocketing it again. “But how did you know that I was pulled off this case?” When the man remained silent, Keith dug his knee into his back. “I asked you a question. How did you know what my new assignment was?”

Someone was shouting behind him, but Keith ignored it, trying to dig his knee harder to get the information out of the man he captured. He didn’t realize someone was behind him until someone was forcibly pulling Keith up and to his feet. “What’s going on here?” Rolo demanded as he forced Keith to face him. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I’m chasing down a person of interest. I got a lead saying that there was something going down at this location.” Keith kept his foot firmly on the man, making certain that he couldn’t get up, as he leaned in so that he could look over Rolo. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

Rolo glared at Keith, placing his hands on his hips. “I would ask you the same, but it’s clear that you’re messing up a delicate operation. Chief Shirogane put me on the case after you left. We had information about a drug deal. Now, all we have is some low-level thug when the ringleader is still out there. Aren’t you supposed to be babysitting the tribe prince? Where is he?”

“Some place safe and out of the way,” Keith said, crossing his arms over his chest. He kept his gaze over Rolo’s shoulder, just in case Lance decided to come running up at that moment. “I didn’t think anyone would be able to canvas this location because of the terrorist attacks, so I came myself.”

“Oh, great, I’m so glad that you came yourself to take care of this yourself.” Rolo snorted and took a step forward. “You know, when Chief Shirogane took you off this case, I thought he was making a mistake. I said to him that you were his best and taking you off was a mistake, but I get his point now.”

Keith tried not to let the words dig into him, but at the mention of Shiro, he couldn’t stop from feeling as if the bottom of his stomach had suddenly dropped. “Oh, yeah? You get his point now? What point was that exactly?”

“That you’re unfit for duty.” Rolo poked a finger into Keith’s chest. Keith tensed but didn’t push it away. “Everyone always talks about how the only reason you made detective was because you know the Avatar, but I didn’t buy that. Though, now that Chief Shirogane mentions it, you are untrained, undisciplined, and too high-strung to have actually earned your place here.”

“He said all that?” Keith asked, voice tight with a small amount of hurt in it that leaked through without his permission. He knew Shiro believed Keith had a long way to go before he was fit for a leadership position, but he thought that they were working on it. “Sh- Chief Shirogane really thinks all that about me?”

“Yeah, he does. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to collect the culprit you’re standing on and bring him down for questioning.” Taking a step back, Rolo considered him. The urge to punch the other detective rose in Keith, but he quickly suppressed it. Rolo didn’t seem to notice Keith’s flare for aggression. Instead, getting even closer to Keith as he asked, “Unless you’re looking to perform any more ‘heroics’ for the day, that is?”

“No,” Keith mumbled under his breath. He stepped back, off the wheel operator that he was holding down with his foot so that Rolo could collect him. Rolo grabbed the man roughly by his arm, hauling him up so that he could begin dragging him in the opposite direction of the faire.

Watching them leave, Keith couldn’t stop the sinking feeling that began to set into him. He walked slowly back towards the attractions, sticking his hands in his pocket as he went. It made sense what Rolo said, since he’d been wondering why Shiro had chosen him as Lance’s bodyguard. At first, he had believed Shiro, that he did want his best man on this, but Lance had been right the other day. Keith couldn’t protect Lance even if he tried.

Part of Keith just wanted to be alone, but it didn’t seem as if he had a choice as he heard Lance’s voice calling out, “Don’t worry about it! I found him!” Keith looked up to see Lance waving good-bye at a bunch of people. The people bowed to him, and he bowed back, as much as he could with Keith's plush and his bags in his arms. Keith wondered if those were the people who Lance had saved when he ran forward to take care of the observational wheel. It seemed the most likely.

“Keith!” Lance said with a grin on his face. “Hey!” He ran towards Keith at full force, only stopping when he nearly ran into him. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” Tilting his head, Lance looked around. “Where’s that guy? Did you lose him?”

“No, I didn’t lose him,” Keith replied shortly. While it wasn’t Lance’s fault, he couldn’t stop himself from snapping. It was hard not to see Lance as the reason why everything had turned out the way that it did. “Detective Rolo came and took him away. He made certain to remind me that this wasn’t exactly my case to begin with.”

“The guy sounds like an ass.” Lance snorted. “I mean, you guys are on the same team. Shouldn’t he be happy that you caught the guy? I think he just wanted all the credit for himself.” He waved his hand, as if shooing the thoughts, bags swinging from his wrists. “Just forget about him. We’ll find another lead, a better lead just the two of us. Then you can get back to your old job, just like you want.”

Keith wanted to agree, but Lance’s words reminded him of why he wasn’t on this case in the first place. “No, we’re not going to do this just the two of us, because there is no us.” It was unfair. He knew it was unfair, but Rolo’s words hurt so much. “I should have never brought you along. All you did was shop all day, play games, and make friends.”

The smile faded off Lance’s face, but it was too late for Keith to take back his words. “Excuse me, but I just saved a whole bunch of people. That ride could have broken down if I didn’t stop it. Then you wouldn’t have even found this guy if it wasn’t for me, Mister ‘I don’t know how to talk to people’.”

“Yeah, because you did that to save those people.” Keith leaned in, and so did Lance, their foreheads touching as they glared at each other. “You have the hugest hero complex that I’ve ever seen. It’s not enough that people worship the ground you walk on because you’re a tribe prince, but you need to have them in your debt, too, don’t you? I see your real colors.”

“My true colors!?” Lance asked, voice raising several octaves. “Don’t even begin to think that you know my ‘real’ colors. You don’t know me. All you do is make assumptions. I know you, though. You’re an impulsive jerk who only knows how to function by pushing everyone else away since you can’t handle the fact that someone out there might care about you!”

“Well, at least I’m not a spoiled tribe prince with no self-preservation instincts!” Keith yelled. His head screamed at him to take it back, but he was just too angry at Rolo and himself to care. “You’re such a damn burden! You’re always in the way and are the most annoying person I know! All you do is create trouble for the people around you! It’s no wonder they just want to marry you off! I wish you’d never come to Republic City! I wish I’d never have met you!”

Those seemed to be the words that drove Lance over the edge. “Forget you,” he said, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve. “Just forget you. I don’t need this, and I sure don’t need you. So, you’re off the hook. You don’t have look after the ‘spoiled prince’ any longer. I’m out.” 

When he pulled his sleeve away, tears had filled Lance’s eyes, and he dropped the plush where he stood without another word then turned, disappearing into the crowd. Keith knew he should go after him, but he didn’t. He was tempted to leave the stuffed animal where Lance had dropped it, but in the end, he picked it up before he made his way out of the festival and back towards his motorcycle. Lance was a big boy, and they were in an Earth Kingdom district. He’d be able to get back to the hotel without Keith’s aid. A sense of guilt and shame burned in the pit of his stomach, but he pressed that down, burying the emotions as far as he could get them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, wow. If you're reading this then I would literally die for you! Thank you for reading my fic. I honestly can't say it enough how much it means to me. By the way, if you rec me or anything please tag me through my tumblr so I can see it.
> 
> As always, [visit me on my Tumblr](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/). I'd love to hear from you.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Microsoft Word is my beta. -wipes sweat from brow- Sorry this chapter is a little late. It's one of the longest I've written for this, and it took A LOT longer than I thought to edit it.

Coming back to the hotel room felt awkward after Keith decided to spend the night in Pidge’s warehouse. She didn’t know that was where he spent the night, and that was the beauty of knowing where the spare key was kept. He’d slept under desk, using the stuffed saber-tooth moose lion as a pillow. His back hurt and joints ached, but it was better than having to face Lance after what he’d done, as the guilt still hadn’t gone away, refusing to remain buried like most of his emotions. It’s probably why he was compelled to stop by a Water Tribe bakery on the ride over to pick up a bag of kale cookies.

“Lance?” he called out, opening the door, dropping the large plush in the corner, meaning to find a place for it later. There was no answer, but that could have been because he was mad at him. “Lance, I’m back? I got you a present.”

However, as he entered the room, there was only quiet. Keith couldn’t hear Lance humming to himself or snoring from the other room. There was no movement, which worried Keith. He didn’t see anything out of place in the living area, so he moved into Lance’s room. His jaw clenched when he saw that it had been trashed, items tossed about and piles of clothes that Lance had left on the floor scattered. The pit of his stomach twisted, eyes flickering around the room for clues.

Keith’s eyes landed on an upturned hatbox, recognizing it as the one that Lance was clinging to when they first met on the pier. He saw the blue leg of a stuffed animal sticking out from underneath it. The fact that Lance was so protective of the toy made Keith curious, and he began to cross the room so that he could inspect it. However, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed a neatly folded note on the bed. He instantly forgot about the plush and moved quickly to the note. He unfolded it, only imaging what it might say.

“Hey man,” the letter started, “I thought I’d write a letter to let you know that I haven’t been kidnapped despite the state of my room. Someone did attempt to mug me, ‘attempt’ being the keyword. I got them pretty good, so don’t worry, you’re not going to lose your precious job over it. I did lose my favorite knife, though, so expect a bill in the mail. Anyway, I just want to let you know that I’m not going to hide any more. I’ve decided to accept the marriage offer. It’s not a permanent fix, I know that, but maybe it’s enough until we find a better solution. After everything is finalized, I’ll be heading back to the North then you’ll be back to your case. Sincerely, Prince Lance.”

Panic flooded through Keith as he read the note again then again. “You idiot!” he screamed out in frustration. He crumpled the note and was tempted to tear it apart, but instead, he shoved it into his pocket, the one that didn’t have bag of the cookies in it. “What do I do? Damn it. What do I do? Where could he have gone?”

Tapping his foot against the floor, Keith realized that the longer he took finding Lance, the closer he was to marrying someone else. He ran out the door, making it down to the car park in record time, and hoped onto his motorcycle, peeling out onto the street. His mind instantly turned to Hunk since he had become Lance’s best friend somehow and began to drive towards their old apartment. He hadn’t been there since receiving the assignment, but he didn’t think that Hunk would have a problem with him dropping by unannounced, especially if Lance was there.

Keith parked in front of the rundown building, which was a lot better than the orphanage and the backroom at the gym combined. He tossed his helmet onto the seat then dashed into the building, taking the stairs two at a time up to their apartment on the top floor. Once he made it to the apartment, his breath was ragged, hair a bit sweaty, but he didn’t care as he banged his fist urgently against the door.

The door opened, and Hunk peeked out at him. “Keith...” Hunk drawled through the crack in the door, clearly not happy to see Keith standing there, threatening to knock down his door. “What- Hey, man, what a pleasant surprise.” His eyes took in Keith’s appearance, noticing how sweaty he looked. “Everything okay? You seem a little bit out of breath.”

“Keith’s here?” he heard Shay ask from the other side of the door. Keith blinked, and suddenly Shay was beside him in her full spiritual glory. He jumped, still not used to her spiritual nature. “Hello, Keith. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Yeah, same here,” Keith said, looking past her to Hunk behind the door. He could still see the annoyed expression on his face, despite Hunk doing his best to appear polite. It was clear that Lance wasn’t here, though. “You know, I’m just going to go. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Hunk snorted, glancing down as he grumbled, “It’s not like this is the first time in forever that Matt called shooting early so I could spend time with my girlfriend, but I’m sure what you need is super important, too.”

“We honestly don’t mind,” Shay encouraged, despite the tone that Hunk used. She smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, which emanated a warmth where she touched. “I want you to know that we always have time for you, and we connect to you as humans.”

Keith blinked in confusion. “Uh, thanks...” He rubbed at the back of his neck. “But, it’s really nothing important. I was just wondering if Lance was here, because we might have got into a fight, so he ran off to get married. It’s clear that he’s not, so-”

The door banged wide open as Hunk rushed out into the hallway. “Wait, wait, back up,” he said, getting into Keith’s space next to Shay. “What do you mean that Lance ran off to get married? Why would he run off to get married? What _did_ you do?”

“Nothing!” Keith shouted defensively, but the glare that Hunk shot him made him deflate. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking off to the side. “Okay, I might have implied he was a burden, and the only thing he was good for was marriage, but it’s not like I meant it.”

Hunk stared at Keith, mouth falling open slightly. “You actually uttered those words? Like they literally fell from your mouth while speaking to Lance?” When Keith nodded his head, Hunk groaned, running his hands over his face. “Spirits, why did you give me such idiots as friends? What did I do to offend you?”

“You did nothing wrong, you were just unlucky,” Shay said, patting him on the back. “If you want, I could ask the other spirits if they’ve seen him. I wouldn’t mind. Lance seemed nice when I met him, so I’d be happy to help hunt him down.”

“Thanks, Shay. I’d really appreciate that.” Hunk kissed her on the cheek. It was difficult to tell because of her form, but it seemed that she was blushing. “Sorry we didn’t get to spend that much time together. Next time, though, I’ll make certain to show you around the city.”

“It’s all right. Any time I get to spend with you is important, and this is for your friend. We can spend time together after you find him.” Shay gave Hunk a kiss on the forehead, causing his cheeks to redden. She gave Keith a small wave before she began to slowly fade away, disappearing entirely after a few seconds. Keith blinked, still not used to Shay like Hunk seemed to be.

Once she was gone, Hunk sighed then looked over at Keith, which made Keith feel guilty for ruining Hunk’s day like he had. “Come on,” he said as he began to walk back into the apartment. “I’ll call Pidge to see if we can borrow a car for the search party.”

Keith followed Hunk into their old apartment, shutting the door behind him. However, it was as if he had walked into a completely different building. The walls had been painted a deep mustard color and the hardwood floors replaced with fancy marble tiles. Their kitchen, which had consisted only of a hot plate and a sink, had grown to include a stove and several cabinets. Then even some of the furniture seemed a bit fancier, and he didn’t remember there being a bookshelf next to their couch. It made Keith wonder what had happened to his own room, but he didn’t dare look. 

“Dude,” Keith said, motioning to the apartment’s new decor. “What did you do? It wasn’t as if me living with Lance was a permanent thing. My name is still on the lease. You can’t just suddenly change everything without my permission.”

“I was actually kind of hoping after I did it that you’d see it and like it,” Hunk confessed, putting his hands on his hips as he looked around at his work. “Besides, I wasn’t expecting you to completely mess things up with Lance. What even possessed you to say that to him?”

“It was my fight with Rolo,” Keith confessed, frowning as he relived the argument. “Lance helped me with my old case, but then Rolo went off on me, told me that Shiro didn’t think I was competent, which was why he put me on bodyguard duty, and that everyone thought I only got the position because I know the Avatar. I couldn’t snap at Rolo, so I took it out on Lance.”

“Man, you know Shiro doesn’t think that. I don’t trust that Rolo. Ever since you joined the police force, I have _not_ liked that guy.” Hunk snorted. “I mean, he’s always picking up your scraps, and nothing ever goes right when he’s involved. Now, he made you fight with your friend, put words in Shiro’s mouth. Do not trust.”

“You’re being ridiculous. Rolo is a detective. He wouldn’t have made it this far if he was dirty. Shiro would have sensed it.” Keith waved off Hunk’s concerns. “And you’re making it out to be like Rolo is some criminal mastermind. He was right in telling me off. I had no place anywhere near that case. I should’ve listened instead of messing it up for everyone.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” Hunk said bitterly. “What do I know? I mean, it’s not like I pointed at your last employer and told you he was a mob boss. But, you were like ‘What, Hunk? No. He’s a legitimate businessman that wants me to run on the side deliveries for him.’ And what happened? Mob boss.”

Keith had the decency to look sheepish as he muttered, “Not this time.” He glanced at Hunk with a pleading look. “Come on, Hunk. Can’t we just drop this? We really have to find Lance before he does something stupid like marry Florona. Please?”

“If your name wasn’t still on the lease, I swear that I would tell you to get out of my apartment right now.” Hunk threw up his hands in annoyance. “But fine. I’ll drop it, only because I’m worried about Lance, too. I’m going to go call Pidge. I’ll be right back.”

Keith watched Hunk move across the room to the phone that had been set up in their kitchen. He shifted awkwardly before deciding to head into his room, deciding it would be best to wait there. Thankfully, it didn’t seem as if Hunk had touched a thing, leaving the bare-bones wooden furniture where it stood. He threw himself down on the bed, groaning as he felt some of the muscles in his shoulder pull. The mattress was hard, unlike the one at the hotel, but he ignored it as he took out his locket to fiddle with it as he waited, hoping to distract himself from his panic and worry regarding Lance’s whereabouts.

* * *

Sitting in the back of the car, legs stretched out on the seats, Keith crossed his arms over his chest. Pidge drove while Hunk sat beside her, though the tension in the car was evident, as they had both snapped at Keith several times to calm down. It wasn’t as if he could help it as different scenarios kept playing through his mind. They’d found out from Shay that Lance was on Air Temple Island, though why he was there or what he was doing she couldn’t say since the water spirits only saw him going to the island with Coran, not what he did once he reached it. Though he knew Coran wouldn’t allow it, Keith kept picturing a big, lavish Water Tribe wedding waiting for him when they arrived at the island.

As Pidge parked, Keith was the first one to hop out, practically racing down towards the ferry to Air Temple Island. Hunk and Pidge trailed behind him, walking at a leisurely pace. It bothered him that they weren’t taking this more seriously. They had told him that it was unlikely Lance was getting married, but his mind kept urging him on, supplying him with ample images of what could be happening while Keith wasn’t there. He gritted his teeth and ran as fast he could to the ferryman’s booth, not wanting to waste another second.

Keith pounded against the window, ignoring the sign that told him that the worker there was on a lunch break. “Hey!” Keith shouted, continuing to slam his fist on the window, not caring if he broke the glass. “Open up! This is Detective Keith Kogane with the Republic City PD. I need you to open up right now!”

A head peeked out from behind the shack. “What do you need?” the man asked with a frown. He didn’t move from his spot, even as Keith glared at him. “I’m on my break, so if you wouldn’t mind letting me finish my lunch, I’ll get you where you need to go when I’m done.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I’m a detective with the Republic City police. I have urgent business to take care of on Air Temple Island. So, you know.” Keith motioned towards the boats with his hands. “If you could take me there right now, I’d really appreciated it.”

“And I told you that I’m on break,” the man reiterated, a bit slower this time. “And I’m sure that whatever it is, it’s not urgent enough that the police would use my ferry instead of their own.” He took a purposeful bite out of his sandwich. “So, you can wait or swim there yourself, because I’m not moving.”

“Fine.” Keith huffed, giving the man a pointed look before he walked forward, moving past him to the end of the pier. He started with his boots, tearing them off and tossing them aside before he moved onto his jacket followed by his pants. He’d stripped down to his underclothes and jumped off the edge towards the water, only to be caught midair by strong arms.

“Why are you like this?” Hunk asked, panting heavily, clearly out of breath after running after Keith. “You might think I ask that sarcastically, but I mean it. I honestly want to know why you’re like this. We grew up in the same orphanage. I’m not like this. I don’t think I’m like this.”

“Hunk, let me go.” Still determined to swim to Air Temple Island, Keith squirmed in his arms, trying to break Hunk’s grip, only he was stronger than Keith and held tight. “Lance could be in danger or getting married. He could be in danger of getting married. You have to let me swim there. It’s my only option.”

“Or, you could use money like a normal person,” Pidge said from behind them. Both Hunk and Keith looked over their shoulders to see Pidge handing yuan to the ferryman. “He’s agreed to end his lunch early and take us across. So, you know.” She wrinkled her nose and motioned towards Keith. “Get dressed.”

Clearing his throat, Keith fought the red that appeared on his cheeks as Hunk slowly let Keith down. He got dressed, unable to face anyone, even after he boarded the boat, which was small and more like a rundown dingy in Keith’s opinion. The ride there was mostly filled with conversation between Hunk and Pidge about the latest designs while Keith stared out at the island. There didn’t seem to be anything going on the island, but the voice in Keith’s head still nagged at him that it could be a small ceremony.

The boat drifted across the water rather quickly, and by the time they landed on the small dock of the rocky island, Keith was still certain that he could have swam here if he wanted. He got out of the boat while Hunk and Pidge said thanks to the ferryman. Keith didn’t say anything, still upset that he refused to take him across at first, but also, because he took off in a run up the steep inclined path of the island up to the peak where the temple resided.

Keith could hear Pidge and Hunk huffing behind him, trying to keep up, but he didn’t care as his only thought was finding Lance. He made it to the top, nearly running into Orcan, who was sweeping the courtyard in front of the temple’s living quarters. As Coran’s eldest son, he was the closest to getting his master’s mark in air-bending, but he seemed disinterested. Half of his orange hair was shaved while the other half was long and tied into a ponytail. He gazed at Keith with a frown as he narrowed his purple-colored eyes at him.

“Do you need something?” Orcan asked, leaning against his broom. He looked as if he would rather be anywhere else than talking to Keith. “If you’re looking for my dad, you made the trip for nothing. He’s off the island meeting with the president again or something. I guess you could wait if you wanted, but I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“I’m not here for your dad. I’m looking for Lance,” Keith said, as a million thoughts rushed through his head. His head kept circling back to the marriage and Lance’s letter, but he tried to keep himself calm. “Have you seen Lance? Did he go with your dad to see the president?”

Orcan gazed up into the sky, scratching at his nose as he thought. “I don’t think anyone went with my dad to see the president, but I don’t know.” He tilted his head from one side to the other, as if it was his goal to waste Keith’s time. “What’s a ‘Lance’, anyway?”

“A tall guy from the Water Tribe,” Hunk’s voice came from behind Keith. He moved to stand next to Keith while Pidge stood on his other side. “He’s a little loud, wears lots of blue, and recently cut his hair really short.”

“Oh, him, yeah,” Orcan said. He pointed over his shoulder in the direction of the fighting arena. “He’s over there sparring with Allura. They’ve been at it since this morning, so I wouldn’t interrupt them. Training is serious business or whatever. I don’t care.”

Keith let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding at the news that Lance wasn’t getting married, at least not right now. He heard a snicker from both Pidge and Hunk as if they both somehow knew what he was thinking. It made him shift awkwardly, and he crossed his arms over his chest defensively, like he always did, so he could be ready if they decided to throw any comments at him.

Clearing his throat, Keith said, “I’m going to go see Lance now. It’s still my duty to make certain that he’s okay, and I still have to talk him out of getting married.” Hunk shared a look with Pidge, and Keith could see what was coming, so he began to walk away at a quick pace, not wanting to wish any of them good-bye and give them an opportunity to snipe at him.

“Is it your only option?” Hunk called at him with a laugh, meaning that Keith would be hearing about him almost swimming to Air Temple Island for the rest of his life. “We’ll be waiting right here! If you mess up again, let us know!”

Keith blushed then turned his head so they couldn’t see and picked up the pace. “I’m too far away now! I can’t hear you!” He yelled over his shoulder at them. “Have fun hanging around, being losers or whatever it is you’re going to be doing while I’m gone.”

“We will, loverboy!” Pidge called out at Keith’s back as he retreated away from them. “Who knows, maybe we can still have a wedding today if you don’t mess things up again!” She laughed, and Hunk joined her, making Keith question why he was friends with the two of them.

It wasn't much longer until he was out of hearing range from their teasing. Keith ran past the temple’s tower, and from where he stood, he could make out two figures on the elevated training platform. As he neared, he saw Lance and Allura, staring each other down as they edged along the outskirts of the fighting arena. Lance had a few ice spikes between his fingers, twirling them methodically as his eyes darted over Allura, sizing her up as she stood with her fists ready.

Lance didn’t seem to notice Keith’s approach as he tossed the first ice spike then the next. Allura moved, summoning a gust of wind that twisted the spikes, sending them hurdling back towards Lance. He dodged the first one, turning his hand to snatch it from the air as it passed him. The other was more centered, but he grabbed it before it hit, twirling it in his fingers, getting prepared to throw again. They were both breathing heavy, shirts soaked with sweat and sticking to their backs. Lance’s was particularly wet, and Keith noticed how much of his muscles were revealed.

They repeated the action, Lance tossing them a different way, and Allura sending them back using her air-bending. The ice spikes Lance threw were more precise than the ones the terrorists lobbed at them. It was no wonder that Lance had the ability to dodge them the way that he did. Unlike the others, which were sloppy and wide, Lance knew where his hit was going to land before he even threw his first strike. The strikes were smooth, too, slicing cleanly through the air in a straight line, never losing the momentum that Lance put behind it to reach his target.

Lance threw his spikes once more, but Allura moved out of the way too slowly, causing it to graze her cheek. A thin cut in a straight line appeared there, welling up with blood. It wasn’t as deep as it could be, especially since Keith had seen Lance strike with more deadly accuracy when he was at the faire. However, Allura shattered the next ice spike that went her way instead of catching it then began to move in close. Lance’s eyes widened, and he stepped back, though it was sloppier, reminding Keith of when the two of them first fought together.

Allura threw out a punch then a kick, and Lance struggled to block them. Keith could see where he was going wrong, as Lance was attempting to calculate where to hit instead of going on the offensive. He, also, didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands, more used to throwing than having to defend. That’s why it didn’t surprise him when one of Allura’s kicks landed hard in Lance’s stomach, sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Ow, that really hurt,” Lance huffed as he sat up, rubbing at his stomach. He scowled at Allura, crossing his arms over his chest like a child who was about to have a tantrum. “You promised no close combat. You know that’s my weak point.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Allura chuckled, not sounding like she was in the least bit. She reached out a hand for him to take. “I suppose I got caught up in the fight. You did very well, though, Lance. I have to say that I’m impressed.”

“Well, I did get you.” Lance rubbed at his cheek where she got cut before he grabbed her hand to pull himself to his feet. “Sorry about that. It’s kind of where I aim when I get defensive. At least it’s not too deep. You should have seen the cut I gave that mugger. He’s going to need a healer for sure after what happened.”

“Do you have to keep mentioning that?” Allura placed a hand on her hip, looking over her cousin in concern. “I honestly can’t tell if you’re proud or looking for sympathy.” Lance snorted, but she continued speaking, “And I still think we should report it to the police, even if they didn’t end up taking anything.”

“You didn’t report it to the police?” Keith asked, unable to stay quiet upon hearing that. “Lance, you were mugged! Even if you managed to get the guy, what about everyone else he’s victimized? You should’ve at least reported it so that they could have put patrols in the area or something. It’s the responsible thing to do.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t report on the guy whose face I almost sliced off, Keith. Next time, I’ll-” Lance paused, exchanging an odd look with Allura before they both glanced to the side to look at Keith, finally noticing that he was there.

Turning in unison, they both looked at Keith with a sharp glare. The glare from Allura surprised him since they had always been on good terms. It made him wonder what Lance had said to her, but then again, Keith knew he deserved any mean looks that he received. He had said some nasty things to Lance. They should have never left his mouth, but that didn’t change the fact that they had. Now, he had to live with the consequences.

“Oh, look who it is,” Allura said as she stared down at Keith from the platform while Lance rested his elbow onto her shoulder. “If it isn’t Keith. Have you come to apologize or did you come here to insult my cousin again?”

“I thought you hated him,” Keith said, gazing at them in confusion. For some reason, the two of them did seem closer. Allura hadn’t even said hello to Lance at Matt’s party, and now she was acting defensive of him. “Didn’t you say that he was-?”

“I know what I said,” Allura interrupted quickly, looking sheepish. “But Coran told me what he was prepared to do for the Southern Water Tribe.” Glancing over at Lance, Allura’s gaze softened, and she smiled slightly. “Then when we spoke in more depth the other day, we realized that we do want the same thing, peace between the Water Tribes.”

The two of them fist bumped as Lance exclaimed, “Boom! Water Tribe solidarity!” He leaned more onto Allura, but she didn’t seem to mind as she easily supported his weight. “But, you didn’t answer my cousin’s question. Did you come to apologize? Because that’s the only way we’re talking.”

“I mean, yeah, I did, sort of...” Keith rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed suddenly as he remembered why he had been hunting Lance down so feverishly in the first place. “I thought you were getting married, okay? I rushed over here to stop you from making a really dumb mistake.”

Lance’s cheeks reddened and Allura burst out laughing. “Well, if you came to apologize then I’ll let you get to it.” She patted Lance’s arm before she moved away from him, grabbing one of two towels that were placed at the edge of the arena. Allura hopped down and gave Keith a stern look. “You treat my cousin right or else.”

Not knowing what to say, and a little scared if he was being honest, Keith nodded his head eagerly to show that he understood. Allura laughed again, and began to walk away, using the towel to wipe the sweat from her white locks of hair. As she did, Lance strode forward, grabbing his own towel. He rubbed at his cheek with it, staring down at Keith, tilting his head from one side to the other as if trying to think of what to say.

As Lance began to wipe at his hair with the towel, a smirk on his face, as if the perfect words just came to him. “So,” he drawled, looking pleased, “did you run to all the temples in the city trying to find the right one? Were you going to burst in at the right moment when they asked if anyone objected to the union?”

“No,” Keith huffed. Then he sighed, deciding to be honest. “But I would have if Shay didn’t use her spirit powers to look for you.” He licked his lips. It was giving Lance fuel, but his own pride had gotten him in enough trouble as it was. “Then the ferryman was on break when we got here, so I almost swam across the bay to get to you. Hunk had to drag me away before I jumped in.”

That seemed to be the right thing to say as the smirk faded into a genuine smile, the kind that made Keith’s heart beat quicker just by looking at it. “All that for me?” Lanced jumped down so that he was standing in front of Keith. “I’m touched.” He tilted his head to the side. “Though, you should be careful. People might start to think you actually like me if you act like that.”

“I’ll make sure to watch myself then. I don’t want people to think that you’re anything but an utter and complete annoyance to me.” Lance flinched at Keith’s words, and Keith tried to backtrack to fix what he said. “Not that you are. I mean, you are or were... I’m not good at this.”

“No, you’re not.” Lance wrapped his arms around himself, taking a few steps forward until Keith couldn’t see his face any longer then turned his head so that his gaze focused on some shrubbery off to the side. “I’m just going to live on Air Temple Island from now on,” Lance announced. Though he had his back turned to Keith, he could hear the tremble in his voice and the sniffle that followed it. “I’m tired of being an annoyance. I’m tired of being a burden on everyone.”

Keith swore under his breath, wishing that he was better at talking. It seemed every time he opened his mouth, he just made things worse. Still, he had almost ripped through all of Republic City for Lance. He didn’t want to give up now. “Then I better go get our things from the hotel room.” He placed his hands onto Lance’s waist, and it felt slightly less awkward than the night they went dancing. “I know what I said, but I really can’t do this without you, Lance. I’m sorry that I made you feel like you were anything but helpful.”

Lance looked over his shoulder at Keith with tears streaming down his cheeks. Without thinking, Keith reached up and wiped them away with his thumbs. It made Lance smile, blinding almost, as more tears began to run down his cheeks. “I can’t believe you,” he said with a chuckle, twisting so that he was facing Keith. “Don’t be nice to me. I can’t hate you if you make me forgive you.”

“I’m not being nice. I’m telling you the truth. I know I don’t always have the words to express it, but I mean it.” He kept his hands at Lance’s cheeks, but when the tears didn’t stop, he withdrew them, not certain what to do. “I _am_ sorry, Lance. You aren’t a burden. You’re loud, and a cocky asshole with an extreme martyr complex, and a bit of a womanizer...”

Laughing, Lance rubbed at the tears with his towel, which, also, didn't seem to be helping them stop. “Hey, when are you going to get to my good qualities?” He pouted, though it was clearly a playful one. “Or is this you saying that I don’t have any?”

“You’re all those things, Lance, but you’re not a burden,” Keith concluded. He moved his hands onto Lance’s shoulder, hoping to ground him. “I should have never called you one. I should’ve got down on my knees and thanked you for what you did for me at the festival, but I didn’t. I took it out on you when I shouldn’t have. I never meant to make you run off to get married. That’s why I worked so hard to find you and stop you.”

“You do know that even if you did find me getting married, you wouldn’t have stopped me.” Lance sighed heavily, the mirth disappearing from his eyes, which surprisingly disappointed Keith. “I know I haven’t officially said yes, but it’s not like I can afford to say no either. I’m sure Allura and Coran will come around on the topic eventually. It's just something that I have to do.”

“Why couldn’t I have stopped? Why are you so insistent on this?” Keith’s grip tightened on Lance’s shoulders. “Don’t marry her.” Lance opened his mouth, probably to protest, so Keith sped on. “You’d be taking the easy way out. It’d be one thing if you actually loved this girl, but you don’t.”

Lance narrowed his eyes at Keith, but he didn’t pull back. He looked over him carefully, though Keith didn’t know why. “And how do you know I don’t love her?” he asked warily. “How do you know that I’m not head over heels for Florona?”

“Because you’re not.” Keith had no idea why he was so confident in his answer, but he was. “Just let me protect you, even if it’s from your own idiocy.” He let his hands fall from Lance’s shoulders to his elbows. “Lance, trust me to do my job.”

“Your job isn’t to stop me from getting married.” Lance pulled away, his eyes looked lost as he searched Keith’s face for an answer. “I know that you think I’m being an idiot, saying that I’m willing to marry when I’m not in love. But they’re my people, Keith.” He took in a deep breath, gaze dropping to the floor. “You don’t understand the burden that I carry by being a tribe prince. If my people want this marriage, then I have to give it to them. Give me a reason to be selfish, and I’ll drop the idea. Otherwise, I have a duty to fulfill whether you think it helps or not.”

Keith clenched his fists. “You’re right. I don’t understand your burden, what you have to go through, what’s expected of you.” He swallowed, feeling as if he was gulping down sand. “But you’re better than this. You willingly give up too much of yourself.” He took in a breath, but it only made him more lightheaded. “And what I said before, I do know why they want to marry you off, but it’s not for what I said. I think it’s because they’re afraid of your ideas, how you think. If you just marry yourself off then those are crushed, and I don’t want to see that. So, I’m begging you to be selfish. I don’t want to see that part of you die because of them.”

It felt as if time froze the way Lance stood in front of him, chest still, looking as if he was trying to remember how to breathe. Lance inhaled sharply then turned to begin walking away. Keith thought that maybe he had offended him even further with his words until Lance motioned lazily over his shoulder for Keith to follow along. Keith did, falling in step behind him, not wishing to admit that he felt like an overeager puppy as he trailed behind him.

Lance walked to the lookout point at the edge of the island and leaned against the railing so that he could gaze at Republic City with blank stare. Keith leaned on the railing, too, feeling awkward as he waited for Lance to say something, anything in response to what Keith had poured out to him. Instead, though, Lance didn’t say anything, barely acknowledging that Keith was beside him.

“Uh, here,” Keith said, taking the smashed bag of cookies out of his pocket. Lance finally looked over at him, and Keith handed the bag to him, who took them warily. “Just make certain that you eat them a good ten feet away from me, got it? I really hate those things.”

Lance frowned but still opened the bag. He laughed as soon as he saw the contents. “Thanks, man.” He curled up the bag as tight as he could get it then set it onto the ground. He then leaned to his side so that he could rest his head against Keith’s shoulder. “I don’t understand why you hate them, though. Have you ever even tried one? You can’t even taste the kale in these.”

“I have, and that’s a lie. They’re cookies baked with lies.” Keith wrapped his arm around Lance, trying to get more comfortable as Lance pressed against him. “The kale is so obvious. It tastes like I’m chewing on grass whenever I eat one of them.”

“And yet you still got them for me,” he muttered, and though Lance’s head was angled away from him, he could hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry I just bolted. I didn’t mean to scare you like I did. I’ll go back to the hotel and won’t make any more problems for you.”

“I highly doubt that.” As Keith said that, Lance shoved him hard in the side, though he didn’t move away from him. He drew Lance closer, and somehow, Lance’s hand found his so that he could entwine their fingers together. “Does this mean that we’ve bonded now?”

“No, I still hate you.” Lance’s words sounded forced and sad, almost resigned in a way. He didn’t move away, but his head tilted further away until it wasn’t resting against Keith any longer. It was odd, but Keith found he missed the weight.

“I’m cradling you in my arms!” Keith exclaimed. It hurt that it seemed no matter how much he tried to apologize that there wasn’t anything he could do to bridge the gap that Lance had created between them. “I’m trying my best. How have we not bonded?”

“Because we haven’t.” Lance sighed. He finally glanced at Keith, and Keith wished he hadn’t since Lance looked so torn. “I don’t think you realize how hard you make this for me. I wish you’d just let me hate you. It’d make the reality of everything easier.”

The words honestly confused Keith. He had no idea what Lance meant by them. Keith turned the words over in his head, trying to figure out the mystery on his own. When he couldn’t, he decided to ask, “And what's the reality of everything?” Though he didn’t expect an answer.

As Keith thought, Lance didn’t say anything, only wrapped his free arm Keith’s chest so that he could melt further into his side. Keith, again, decided to let it go, knowing that if Lance wanted to elaborate then he would. Unable to help himself, Keith buried his nose into Lance’s hair, ignoring how sweaty he smelled. He knew he should pull away, not enjoy these moments with Lance, but he couldn’t help himself. It was a mistake. Keith knew that it was a mistake, but he couldn’t help feeling that he was possibly falling in love with the tribe prince in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I am so blown away! I can't believe that this is almost at 650 hits and we're only a quarter of the way through! Like seriously, I love all of you guys. Thank you for the support and comments.
> 
> [Make sure to visit me at my tumblr.](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/) I like hearing from you guys!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta was Microsoft Word.

For the second time since becoming Lance’s bodyguard, Keith woke up in Lance’s bed. It was different this time, though. There wasn’t the press of a warm body against his, just the feeling of a cold bed that had long since been vacated. He rolled onto his side with a sigh, not certain why he had thought it was a good idea to sleep in Lance’s bed again. Keith didn’t even have the excuse of there being any alcohol involved. After they’d gotten back from Air Temple Island and dinner, Lance had asked, and Keith found he couldn’t say no.

Keith knew it was a mistake. After his revelation, he should be distancing himself from Lance to prevent any further feelings, but he found it more difficult than he imagined. He grabbed Lance’s pillow and placed it over his head to let out a small, muffled scream, not certain how this had happened to him. Lance’s antics were annoying, and the way he put himself in danger was stupid, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the way Lance looked when he was in a fight, so determined and protective.

Rolling over again, Keith let out another scream in the pillow before he decided that staying in bed thinking about Lance wasn’t productive. He kicked the covers off and got out of bed, as he did, he could make out the low noise of talking coming from the other room. A robe had been laid out, red with the hotel’s logo on it, making him wonder if Lance had requested it for him. Still, he put it on then made his way out of the room.

“While fighting is reported to be at a standstill in the North, several skirmishes have been said to have broken out,” the voice said seriously. “So far, the death toll is unknown, but we do know that the casualty count is reaching the hundreds. While there are varying accounts as to what might have caused the riot to break out, many firsthand accounts are claiming that it started when insults were hurled at the Northern Tribe Chief and his family.”

As the radio announcer continued to detail the attack, Keith moved further into the living quarters. Lance sat on the floor in front of the radio, which had been placed on the coffee table. Keith didn’t think that there was one in the room previously, but considering that Lance was a tribe prince, it probably wouldn’t be that hard for him to request one be brought to the room.

Not seeming to notice Keith, Lance stared down at his hands as he worked a needle through some red fabric. His hair was a curly mess, much like when he took the helmet off, and he was wearing a peach-colored face cream this time. Keith moved closer, which made him notice a glassiness to Lance’s eyes and the skin around them seemed puffy like he’d been crying.

“Inside sources say that yet another peace treaty has fallen through,” the announcer said, continuing to give details on the development with the civil war. “Unable to come to an agreement due to lack of cooperation from the Northern Tribe Prince and his entourage, many experts fear that the war will last indefinitely. We brought in a few to get their take on the events and their opinion on the marriage clause.”

Keith crossed the room as the experts began to introduce themselves. He frowned then changed to his favorite jazz station. “This will rot your mind. You know what really happened. Stop torturing yourself.” He then reclined on the couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table. “Just relax and enjoy your sewing.”

“So, sue me for wanting to keep up to date with what’s happening with my people.” Lance sighed and stopped his sewing so he could look at Keith. “I don’t want to be left in the dark. I need to know these things so that I can make informed decisions that will benefit the Water Tribe. If I don’t know what’s happening, then how can I do that?”

“And how is listening to some old guys talk about how you should get married to someone you’ve never even met staying informed?” Crossing his arms over his chest, Keith leaned back further into the couch. “And I don’t want to listen to it either. I hate that they keep pushing this whole marriage thing like you’re just some kind of object that they can trade around. It makes me so angry that they don’t respect your choices.”

Lance shook his head. “And you do? You’re the one who had a panic attack that I was going to get married, not them.” He returned his attention back to his stitching, though Keith couldn’t tell exactly what he was making. “You didn’t seem to care about my choice when you were telling me not to go through with it.”

“That’s because it wasn’t your choice.” Keith leaned forward, resting his wrists against his knees. “I heard what you said with Hunk. I saw you at the meeting. I know that you didn’t want to get married. If you weren’t going to protect your choice, then I was. Yeah, I may have gone a little overboard, but I know what it’s like to lose yourself in a situation, to feel like you only have one option. I’m just trying to make it clear that getting married isn’t the only one.”

“So, what will you do when I want to get married?” Lance asked with a chuckle. “You going to be the one to give me away? Is the future Mrs. Water Tribe going to have to ask you for permission to marry me? Will you cry? Promise me that you’ll cry at my wedding.”

Keith snorted and looked away from Lance, hating the way his cheeks heated up while his stomach twisted into a knot. “If you really love her then I promise that I’ll cry when you marry whoever Mrs. Water Tribe is, but that’s only if you love her. If you don’t, then expect me to drag you away by your hair.”

Since he was looking away, Keith only heard the shift of movement and didn’t see Lance get to his feet until he was dropping into Keith’s lap. Keith groaned as Lance’s weight was suddenly on him, not expecting Lance to wrap arms around Keith’s neck. “My hero!” he declared before putting a hand to his forehead, pretending to swoon.

“Get off me, dumbass,” Keith said before he pushed Lance to the ground. Lance burst out laughing, rolling on the floor, too amused by his own joke. It made Keith feel stupid that he had feelings for him. “Yes, we’re all amused, because you’re so hilarious...”

Lance kicked his feet as his laughter died, using his fingers to wipe some tears from his eyes. “Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t resist.” He picked up his sewing project and returned to work. “And sorry for eating up so much of our time. Just let me get this side done then I’ll get dressed. I thought of a new lead we could chase down.”

“Actually,” Keith said, and it honestly pained him to say this, “I was thinking we could stay here, and I could just watch you, like it’s my job to do. Rolo was right about one thing. It wasn’t my job to be there. I’m done putting you in danger. From now on, I’m going to be the best bodyguard in existence.”

Lance gave him a curious look in between his stitches. “Okay, so, who are you and what have you done with Keith? The Keith I know would never give up on his case. If you’ve come to abduct me, it won’t work. I’m sure the real Keith is on his way right now.”

“Yesterday was kind of a revelation, all right?” Keith wasn’t going to say how it was, but it was. “Shiro trusted me with this job. Running off and going against orders is just proving to him and everyone else that I’m not fit for duty. So, if I show him that I can protect you like I’m supposed to then I’ll get transferred to another case.” And Keith could move past whatever was developing between the two of them.

“Wow.” Lance chuckled and shook his head, not taking his eyes off his work. “You’re going to last a couple of hours, maybe a day. Keith Kogane is incapable of not running off on his own. It’s hardwired into his very being that he has to run off without listening to anyone.”

“I have impulse control.” A snort sounded from Lance, and Keith huffed. “I do! I didn’t-” Keith paused, trying to think of an example. One did come to mind. He didn’t kiss Lance when they were fighting, but that was because of the kale cookies. “I can’t think of anything, but I do have impulse control.”

A hum of disbelief sounded from Lance, and he returned to his work. Keith tried to ignore him, closing his eyes so that he could listen to the mellow music. Lance hummed along, reminding Keith of his presence and the lead that he’d dangled in front of him. Tapping his fingers against his thigh, Keith tried to keep his curiosity from getting the better of him. Then there was the smug silence, as if Lance knew how much it was killing him not to ask.

Keith didn’t know how much time had passed, but he couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “All right, I don’t have impulse control.” He tried to ignore the knowing glance that Lance was giving him, not wanting to give Lance the pleasure of acknowledgment. “What’s the lead?”

A smile curled on Lance’s lips, eyes still twinkling from his victory. He got to his feet, not saying anything, only giving Keith a wink as an answer. Keith couldn’t help the groan that escaped his lips as he placed his head in his hands. Making a mental note to himself, he’d have to remember not to allow Lance another win, hating how cute Lance got when he was feeling full of himself.

* * *

Leaning over the side of the railing of the fire escape, Lance stared down at Keith into the alleyway below. “Check in that grate again,” Lance ordered. He frowned, scanning over the small area before he began to climb back down. Placing his hands on his hips, he looked around the empty surroundings and sighed. “I know that I threw it around here somewhere. Do you really think they’d take my knife?”

The two of them stood in the alleyway where Lance had been attacked, hoping to find something that would lead him to whoever attacked him. Since the attack had happened near where the drug deal was supposed to go down, Lance had thought that maybe the two could have been connected. And maybe they were, since the scene had been cleaned to a near-spotlessness, like the other crime scenes that Allura and Lance had investigated, but it was nothing that he could take to Shiro. It being clean was only suspicious, not truly evidence.

“If they thought that your knife could somehow link this back to them, they might have,” Keith said, as he glanced around. He’d checked the other alleys, none looked as scrubbed clean as this one. “Maybe we could try recreating the scene. That could give us some more information on who attacked you.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lance said, nodding his head. “So, how do we go about doing that? Obviously, you don’t want me to throw a knife at you, and who will be playing who? He was taller than me, will that affect anything?”

“Well, that’s already something. We know he was taller.” Keith scratched at his neck, as he thought of how to explain, though. “To recreate the events, just go through what happened. Tell me where to stand, and what he did as you did it, and then I’ll try to recreate the movements. Feel free to correct me if I do anything that he didn’t, every little bit helps.”

Lance pursed his lips as he thought. “Okay, I got this. So, the dude was wearing a mask, from the faire, I think, but I didn’t recognize it since it was dark.” He then moved to the edge of the alleyway. “I didn’t see him at first because I was so upset, but he was standing a few feet away from the lip of the alley, like leaning against the wall. Though, he came towards me as soon as he saw me.”

As he spoke, Keith grabbed the collar of his shirt and placed it over his mouth to simulate the mask. He, also, took out his badge to place it on his hip so people wouldn’t get the wrong idea while they were doing the exercise. After it was secure, Keith leaned against the wall, trying to appear casual. “Like this? Was there anything I was doing? Did you see anyone else?”

“No, he was there by himself, and yeah, like that. Now, I was walking, you were looking towards me and then began approaching me before I reached the mouth of the alleyway,” he instructed. Lance left the alley, while Keith watched him disappear after a few steps. As he walked back, Keith could see him as soon as he took a step forward and instantly made his approach, reaching Lance well before he crossed to the middle of the alley. “Huh. No, we’re too far forward.” Lance took a few steps, dragging Keith with him. “Back here. He was on me like right away.”

Keith worried at his lip. “He might have recognized you,” he said thoughtfully, but then again, Lance was in all the papers. It wouldn’t be that hard to, despite them getting lucky so far. “Well, what happened next? Did he say anything? Did he ask for your wallet? What made you throw the knife at him?”

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Lance thought on it. “So, he came forward. And he grabbed me around my wrist then tried to drag me back. He made a grab for my bags, so I swung them. It knocked him in the nose. He reeled back, and I tried to escape, but he came after me, so I reached into my sleeve and threw the knife.”

“Show me,” Keith said, grabbing Lance’s wrist. Lance didn’t move or struggle, though, instead he raised an eyebrow at him, as he awaited an explanation. “I want you to show me what he did, blow for blow. I’ve had worse, so don’t be afraid of hurting me.”

Though his eyebrows knit together, Lance took a breath then began to struggle against Keith’s grip. Keith held tight, and when Lance mimed throwing the bags in his face, he reared back, all while thinking of what injuries that might have caused in his head. Depending on how hard Lance hit, whoever attacked him could have a broken nose. He then let go of Lance, allowing him space to move back.

Some people were watching them now, mildly interested, but not alarmed since Keith’s badge was on display. However, Lance seemed to be getting self-conscious as he became aware that were people watching him. “Come on, Lance," Keith encouraged. "Just finish the reenactment then we can get out of here. You’ve got this.”

Lance’s eyes flickered to the crowd, and though his cheeks were turning red, he followed through with what they were doing. He pretended to reach into his sleeve then jerked his hand. It was half-hearted, but Keith had seen Lance throw enough times to know how hard he could toss his knives, all he needed was the angle. Studying Lance’s stance and where he was aiming, if he grazed his cheek, then the knife normally would have skidded to a stop halfway through the alleyway, but given that this was Lance, he put the distance more towards the end of the alley.

Keith pulled his shirt away from his mouth then dispersed the crowd, which was easy since they were done with their show, before waving at Lance to follow him deeper into the alley. “We’re searching in the wrong place,” he explained. “You’re able to get good momentum behind your throws, so they travel farther. We need to look in the back, not in the middle.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Lance said, “I don’t know. I think my throws are pretty average.” He stuck his hands into his pockets as he walked beside Keith. “It’s not like I’ve had any formal training or anything.”

“What are you talking about?” Keith asked, knocking Lance with his shoulder. He snorted and pushed Keith back, but it was playful rather than annoyed. “You got a hit in on the Avatar. You’re a natural, Lance.”

“Thanks,” Lance muttered, rubbing at the back of his neck. As he said that, they reached the back of the alley. It wasn’t as clean the previous section, which Keith was glad since, even if it was slim, there was a higher chance of them finding something because of this. He looked around, seeing the path split out into narrower alleys that ran between the buildings. While Keith could see signs of foot traffic, he doubted that it would be from the people who so meticulously cleaned up after themselves.

“Here,” Lance said, using his boot to point to some dried, reddish brown droplets near another grate at the very center of the alley. “If there’s no rain, everything just sits there, right? So there’s a chance that it could still be there.”

“Maybe. Let me check.” Kneeling onto the ground, Keith looked down into the grate, lighting up one of his hands so that he could have some light as he peered into it. He could see the glinting of metal down there, and he leaned in closer to see a fine, onyx-colored knife lying among some leaves and noodle cup lids. “I see it,” he said while reaching his other hand out to try lifting the up the cover. “No good, though.”

“I think I can fit my hand through the bars,” Lance said, and before Keith could stop him, he was leaning over, sticking his hand down into the grate. He then got onto the floor, lying down so that he was in it up to his shoulder. However, that made it so Lance couldn’t see where he was reaching, and he appeared to be groping blindly for his knife with the small tip of his tongue darting out as he concentrated on his task.

“Don’t reach blindly into a grate,” Keith chided. Lance ignored him, though, to keep stretching his hand into the depth without looking where he was reaching. “What if that is your knife? You can’t see the blade from the hilt. You’re going to cut yourself.”

“I’m not going to cut myself. I’m using my sleeve to grab it.” Suddenly, Lance gasped, eyes widening as he yelped in pain. Keith started, moving forward, until Lance laughed then removed his hand, revealing his sleeve clasped around the dagger, hand unharmed. “Got you.”

Angry, Keith shoved Lance. “Jerk,” he huffed. He couldn’t help the small pout that appeared on his lips as he cut the fire in his hand and crossed his arms over his chest. “You know, I was actually worried about you for a minute. Excuse me if I ever do it again.”

“It’s not like you’ll get fired for a cut on my hand.” Lance took off his jacket, careful not to remove the let it slip onto his hand, and then began to wrap the knife in it. “We’re taking this back as evidence, right?”

“Yeah, it’s evidence, but...” Keith trailed off, reaching out a hand to place it over Lance’s, causing him to stop what he was doing to look up at him. “Is it really that hard to believe that maybe I care about your well-being not because it’s my job?”

Lance pulled his hand from Keith’s, letting out a frustrated sigh. “Man, you don’t even know me. Not like you think you do.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to explain it. There’s something I got to confess, and you’re probably not going to like it.”

Keith frowned and put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, figuring it was the best way to show that he had his support. “Hey, we might not have known each other very long, but I know the type of guy you are. I’m sure whatever it is, it won’t change anything.”

Glancing from the hand on his shoulder to Keith, Lance said, “Oh, no, trust me. This is big. I don’t want to do it here. We’re done, right? We cased the alley. They cleaned it just like they did the other scenes, so we can head back?”

“Yeah,” Keith looked around the alley. He had no idea where they could have gone, and the only lead they had was what Lance remembered along with the knife, so the only thing left to do was report his findings to Shiro, which could wait. “Nothing left to do here. Let’s head back.”

Though Lance didn’t look relieved by the statement, he nodded his head and got to his feet, carrying his jacket with him. Keith stood, and the two of them began to make their way out of the alley and onto the footpath. He stuck his hands into his pocket, but as he did so, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Looking over his shoulder, he didn’t see anyone that stood out immediately. It made him bite at his cheek, wondering if they had been watching this place, waiting for someone to show up to investigate like Lance and Allura had at the other locations.

Gripping Lance’s arm, Keith tried to hurry him along, not certain if they were after him or simply tailing them because they were ordered. He glanced at Lance, wanting to explain, but it seemed as if he felt the stares, too, as his head was low, eyes focused. They exchanged a look, one of understanding that they had to move quicker. For some reason, it always amazed Keith how Lance seemed to understand the non-verbal commands that he was given. He knew he shouldn’t be since Lance fought just as well as him, at from a distance.

It wasn’t much longer before they reached Keith’s motorcycle sitting on the side of the street. As they approached, movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He could see a few men on motorcycles, wearing dark colors which Keith recognized as belonging to the Triple Threats, his old gang. Their gazes bore into them. While Keith didn’t know what they were planning, it clearly wasn’t anything good. He weighed his options. They could take off on foot, but the motorcycles gave him cause for worry as these guys didn’t seem like the type to care about foot traffic laws.

“Hey,” Keith said, keeping his voice low, practically whispering into Lance’s ear, “just slide the knife into one of my side bags, forget about keeping it pristine for right now. Put your jacket back on. I have a bad feeling that something is going to happen soon, and you’re going to need all the protection that you can get.”

“I’ve got eyes,” Lance hissed back at him. Still, he began doing what Keith asked, slipping the knife into the side bag as he began to put on his jacket. “So, what’s the plan? They’re waiting for something. They’re either planning on not so subtly following us or attacking as soon as we get on the road, so I’d like one before we get on there.”

“Uh, your chakras back in alignment?” From the pointed look that he got from Lance, Keith guessed that wasn’t the case. “What about a motorcycle? Do you know how to drive one? Because we need to be able to bend if things get out of control. My fire isn’t ideal, but we’re going to need defense if they attack.”

“I’ve never driven a motorcycle before. It’s not like we have roads in the North like you do here. It’s practically all ice.” He grabbed the helmet off the seat. “But, that doesn’t mean I can’t defend us. Keith, just because I can’t bend, doesn’t mean that I can’t protect us. You just focus on the driving, and leave the sharpshooting to me, okay?”

Keith picked up his helmet and drummed his fingers on it. He could hear Shiro’s voice in the back of his head telling him not to put Lance’s life in danger like this. If Lance attacked then he’d be the target, and Keith wouldn’t be able to protect him. “Just pull your weight, and don’t make me regret this,” he said, though his tone was a little softer from the last time he uttered that phrase to Lance, and a small smile fought to find its way into his face and quickly placed his helmet on his head to hide it.

Lance grinned, looking pleased as he put on his helmet, too. A small knife found its way into his hand, making Keith realize he probably had some hidden up his sleeve. “Let’s do this.” Lance sounded cocky. It was almost enough to convince him, but Keith could see the small tremor in his hand. Maybe Keith was asking for too much of him, but he honestly did trust Lance with his life.

Climbing onto the motorcycle, Keith waited for Lance to climb onto the back before he sped off down the road. The others that he marked started their engines then began to follow behind him. He tapped his fingers on the handles, waiting to see what they would do now that they were all on the road. They were clearly following him, but it was hard to gauge their movement and if they were purposely lagging or just couldn’t keep up with Keith’s speed.

Keith decided to take a sharp turn, and he could feel Lance lurch forward into him. Lance’s muscles were tense, and he didn’t blame him. It wasn’t every day that a tribe prince was involved in a motorcycle chase, even if Keith had gotten used to, before he became a member of Team Avatar, too. Maybe that made him a bad bodyguard, not putting his foot down harder when Lance wanted to follow him into these situations, but Keith had begun to rely on Lance to have his back in a fight.

Like now for example, as those following them took the same hard turn that Keith did. At this point, their speeds began to increase, and some rubble began to rise from the ground, taking form, preparing to strike. Keith glanced back, seeing Lance out of the corner of his eye. Lance’s hand went back once, twice, a third time, and then the knife in it released, catching the tire of the motorcycle that the earth-bender was on. The motorcycle lost its balance, and the earth-bender lost his concentration, the rubble scattering back to the ground.

“At least we know these guys aren’t Separatists!” Lance shouted at him over the roar of the motorcycle. Another knife slipped into Lance’s hand. “Do you know who these guys are? They seem very intent on doing killing us, and maybe it’s just me, but normally, I like to know why people want me dead.”

“They’re Triple Threats,” Keith explained to him. There were more gang member following them still, and he took another hard turn. “They’re one of the largest gangs operating out of Republic City. If you can think of it, they’ve got their hands in it. Taking them down was actually what my last case was about. We had some good leads, but then they all fizzled out.”

“Well, it’s good to know that you have friends outside Team Avatar, buddy. I was beginning to worry about you.” As he spoke, they drove past a fountain and some ice spikes rose from it. “Just wish that they were a little nicer.” Lance threw his knife at another motorcycle, hitting the wheel like the other one, but it wasn’t in time as a few of the shards launched instead of falling to the ground with the rest of them.

The shards were loose, though, barely focused, and like in his fight with Allura, Lance managed to pluck a few out of the air, while the rest flew past them. One did graze Keith’s neck, and he could feel a cut on his exposed skin, but it wasn’t enough to deter his focus on navigating them through the streets of Republic City. It wasn’t an easy task, as the gang members following them didn’t give him much room to maneuver. There weren’t that many cars on the road, still too expensive for the average person, it was crowded enough, especially with the occasional pedestrian and food cart attempting to cross the street. Either they dove out of the way or Keith dodged them, but it wasn’t easy.

Keith turned again, suddenly without warning, and another one of the motorcycles spun out of control. There were only three left now, determined to follow Keith through every street that he took. Lance threw the ice spikes in his left hand, getting one motorcycle, but the fire-bender on the other motorcycle melted those thrown from his right. He heard Lance swear loudly and glanced over his shoulder to see that the fire-bender was gaining on them while another one of the motorcycles held back.

Lance pulled out another knife and was about to throw, when the fire-bender kicked at Keith’s leg, causing the throw to go wide. Flames shot out from the bender's hands, and Lance reached around to grab at him, pointing them upwards so the fire burst into the air. They kicked at each other, making it hard for Keith to keep the motorcycle steady. He worried about increasing the speed and what that would do to Lance with the sudden momentum increase, but he could see him struggling to keep the fire-bender under control.

Nudging Lance with his leg, Keith hoped that he got the hint to let got as he revved forward. He nearly hit a food cart as he did so, but he did get away from the fire-bender with Lance letting go just in time for them to make their escape. Keith decided to make another sharp turn, but this time, instead of continuing forward, he looped around. It made him lose the fire-bender, but the last motorcycle wasn’t fooled and continued to follow behind them.

Keith glanced around, trying to find another way that he could go to lose the gang members behind them. It’s probably why he didn’t see the water rise and crystallize in the street until he was already driving over it. The motorcycle bucked underneath his grip, and he tried to lessen the speed, though it seemed as if it was already too late. He struggled to keep the motorcycle steady in his hand, but it was impossible since that he had already begun to lose balance, and he couldn’t stop the motorcycle from tipping to the side while its tires squealed loudly.

As Keith lost control of the motorcycle, they spilled onto the road, tumbling as any traffic that hadn’t already screeched to a stop swerved to avoid them and the ice that had suddenly appeared. Keith rolled, the motorcycle barely missing him as it slammed into the ground, while Lance fell a few feet away, landing on his side, crumpled in on himself. The one remaining motorcycle pulled up to Lance, and the gang member reached down to drag him up by his collar, attempting bring him onto the motorcycle with them.

Keith’s body hurt, but he forced himself to move forward. Lance began to stir, reaching his hand up to stab into the one grabbing him. The gang member reeled back, and as he did, Keith released a blast of fire. The guy leaned back, eyebrows singeing along with a few strands of loose hair. He growled and revved his engine but sped off away from them while clutching his hand to his chest. It confused Keith, but only for a moment, as the sound of a second motorcycle speeding away caught his attention.

The side bag on Keith’s motorcycle was gone, meaning that they had the knife, and the only evidence that the encounter happened outside of Lance’s word that it did. In anger, Keith tore off his helmet, and threw it to the ground, not caring that he most likely scuffed it. He might have done more if it wasn’t for the arms suddenly wrapping around him, grasping him tightly. Lance still had his helmet on, but it didn’t make it any less comforting as he rested his head against Keith’s. Any fight left in Keith left him as he allowed himself to get lost in Lance’s warmth, and a feeling of relief washed over him, because at least they hadn’t taken Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some people who talk with me on Discord know the story, but I'm going to share it with the rest of you on why this chapter is a week late. The week this chapter was supposed to come out, I got horribly sick, couldn't concentrate or anything. Still, I pushed through it, loaded up on as much cold medicine as I could to keep me going, and finished the chapter. Cue me being not sick and going to edit the chapter to post. It was horrifying. Teleporting people, random confessions. I ended up having to re-write the entire thing. Lesson of the day: When sick, just rest.
> 
> Anyway, thank you to everyone who read this! And as always, comment or [visit my Tumblr ](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/) to say hello.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, Microsoft Word is my beta. And 7400 words... I want you to know how concerned I was that this chapter would never end.

Sitting at his desk, Keith felt odd with Lance there beside him. Lance still looked sore as he lounged with his head lolled back while he watched Keith fill out paperwork about the attack in the crowed police precinct. It looked the same always, but for some reason, felt a little more confined today. It had nothing to do with them medically. Keith knew that because he had decided, despite Lance’s protests, to take them to a hospital to get them checked out. Since he had managed to slow the speed of the motorcycle before impact, it was nothing that the healers couldn’t fix, only left them both drained from the encounter.

Still, the noise wasn’t helping Keith concentrate, or maybe it was the way Lance kept shifting and drumming his fingers against his leg. Keith didn’t snap, though. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Lance, especially after he had almost been taken. It didn’t make Keith any less on edge as his mind struggled to put all the pieces together. He knew he had them, that everything was there for him to put them together, but instead, he felt as if he was grasping at something just out of reach with no way of pulling it closer.

Keith leaned back in his chair, releasing a groan while reaching up to grasp at his hair. He wasn’t even halfway through the report of what happened, and he was already ready to throw it across the room. “This doesn’t make any sense,” Keith said in frustration. “Usually, I’d go to Shiro to talk this out when I was stuck on a problem, but he’d be upset with me if he knew that I was working on this case.”

Lance hummed under his breath, stopping his drumming to lean forward and rest his elbows on the desk. “Well, I’m not Shiro or a detective, but I have a set of ears. I don’t know how much help I’ll be... Still, it might help to talk out loud about what’s going through your mind.” He smiled at him. “Besides, it’ll give me something to do since I’m getting pretty bored.”

A small smile played on Keith’s lips as Lance stared at him, finding he liked it when he had Lance’s full attention. “Okay, if you think you can keep up, then here’s the thing, for the last few months, I’ve been closing in on the Triple Threats. We had some successful leads, a good bust here and there, but then-” Keith looked around and lowered his voice, causing Lance to have to lean in close to hear him. “Then nothing. They either they wouldn’t be there, or they’d know we were going to bust them ahead of time.”

Biting at his lip, Lance’s eyebrows knit together as he thought. “So, you’re thinking that it’s someone on the inside, right?” He glanced around, moving his chair even closer to Keith. “Does Shiro think it’s an inside job, too? Have you talked with him about this theory? Because this seems pretty big.”

“I did, but then the whole thing with the terrorists happened.” Keith frowned as he noticed a small hint of guilt enter Lance’s eyes before they darted away to stare at the floor. “Not that this is your fault.” He grabbed Lance’s wrist, which made Lance’s gaze flicker back up to him. “I shouldn’t have blamed you. This was all beyond your control. It’s not like you asked for any of this to happen to you.”

“Thanks, man.” The smile returned to Lance’s face, and Keith relaxed, though he found it hard to remove his hand from his wrist, so he didn’t. “But,” Lance continued, “I guess the thing on my mind. This has all been happening for months, right? You’ve been on this case way before I arrived, thus the anger. Why are the Triple Threats suddenly interested in me? The knife seemed pretty important, but why stop to try to grab me?”

“That’s the thing that’s tripping me up. Kidnapping and ransom, they’ve done that before, but they’ve never gotten themselves tied up in anything political. It’s too messy.” Keith tapped his finger against his report, not caring if he was smudging the ink. “Especially considering the civil war. One false move, and the Triple Threats could be dragged in the middle of it by extremists trying to a lot more than get money from the Tribe Chief.”

“Or worse.” Lance rested his chin in the palm of his hand. “Maybe we’re getting too caught up in the why. Maybe we should be more focused on the who. It doesn’t matter why they did it, just that they did. Once we figure out who they are, then they can tell us why they were after me, and what they were hoping to gain by dragging me away.”

Keith sighed. “You’re probably right.” He mimicked Lance’s stance, leaning his cheek into his palm. Despite saying that, he couldn’t get his mind to focus on anything other than why they’d want to take Lance. “I do have an inkling, but it’s nothing solid, more bits and pieces that don’t add up all the way. I can’t take that to Shiro. He’d never go for it.”

“You never know. I say trust your instincts. It never hurts to look.” The smile on Lance’s face widened to a grin, making the corners of his eyes crinkle. “Besides, if you’re wrong and he fires you, then you can come work as my bodyguard on a permanent basis.”

A small amount of blush appeared on Keith’s cheeks, but he huffed to cover it. “You wish,” Keith said, though it came out softer and more teasing than he would have cared to admit. He then glanced over at Shiro’s office door, weighing his options. “You really think that I should go talk to him, though?”

Glancing in that direction, too, Lance shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. He’s your brother, right?” He looked over at Keith out of the corner of his eye. “Family is important. I wish my sister was just on the other side of a door that I could enter right now to talk to, so you shouldn’t waste any opportunities to talk with him, even if it’s just over a hunch.”

“Why aren’t you with your sister right now? I mean, to talk out the treaty is why you’re here, but you guys seemed like you couldn’t be separated the last time I saw the two of you.” Keith took in a breath, wondering if he should stop himself, but Lance seemed to be eyeing him with mild interest, so he continued, “What happened between the two of you?”

While Keith expected silence or a sudden topic change, Lance just sighed. “I don’t know, if I’m being honest. It just felt as if I woke up one day and everything was different. She was different, or maybe it’s me who was different. Like I said, I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint when it was exactly, but everything between us wasn’t the same after that. We fought more, especially over the war. I really wish I knew why. It’d be easier to fix things between us if I did.”

Keith could hear the pain in Lance’s voice, so he gave Lance’s wrist a squeeze, not knowing how else to comfort him. “Lance,” he said, but the rest of the words wouldn’t follow. He wished that he was better at talking, wanted to say the exact words to make him know that everything would be all right, only that would entail Keith being someone who knew how to interact well with others. “I’m going to go talk to Shiro now, and I’m going to finish this. Then? We’re going to patch things up between you and your sister. I promise.”

A smile formed on the edge of Lance’s lips as he turned his head to look at Keith. “Yeah, thanks, man.” Keith wondered if he had truly said the right thing, or if Lance was doing one of those smiles, the ones that Keith had seen him do to hide how he felt. “And good luck in there. Don’t know why you’ll need, but still, good luck.”

Giving Lance’s wrist one last squeeze, Keith got to his feet then gave Lance a thumb’s up, ignoring the odd look Lance gave him from the action. He felt self-conscious enough as it was going to speak with his brother about his suspicions and didn’t need Lance judging him. Not that he didn’t have the right to judge him. Even Keith couldn’t believe that he had decided that was the correct move to make. For some reason, being around Lance made Keith ten times more awkward than he already was.

However, as he walked across the room, the embarrassment subsided, only to be replaced by a nervous gnawing in his stomach. Keith glanced around the room, though none of the other detectives seemed to give him much attention, maybe a head nod or two, but they were mostly too busy with their arrests or paperwork to pay him any mind. He did notice that Rolo was nowhere to be seen, though he didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing after what had happened between the two of them.

It took Keith a shorter time than he expected to reach Shiro’s office, and he took a second to admire the engraved, golden name plate with Shiro’s full name written on it, and when he raised his hand to knock, he took another minute or two to admire the grain of the wood along with the green paint that coated it. He would have continued to stare at the door if Shiro’s voice didn’t shout from inside, “Either come in or leave! Stop hovering and get to work!”

Keith was tempted to leave, but he didn’t. Instead, he opened the door and entered the familiar office. It was more disorganized than the last time Keith had been there, though that was to be expected because of the terrorist attack. A map had been pinned to the wall with colored dots painted onto it, signifying something that probably only Shiro would be able to decipher. Shiro’s desk had piles of paper scattered across it, all looking official and important. While the National Guard might step in every now and again, everyone knew that it was Chief Shirogane who kept the city out of harm’s way.

Shiro stood in front of the far wall, where a few dull-eyed mugshots hung. He looked over his shoulder at Keith with a hard expression that softened with familiarity as soon as he realized that it was his brother, which was something Keith would never get used to. His hair was disheveled, with a slight stubble, and underneath his tactical armor, it was clear his uniform was unwashed. “Hey,” Shiro said, turning to face him. “I didn’t realize that it was you, Keith. Sorry about yelling. It’s been one thing after the other because of that attack.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Keith replied, shutting the door behind him. He moved further into the room up to Shiro’s desk so that he could lean against it awkwardly. “So, how’s it going? Were you able to dig up any more leads on the terrorists? I’ve got some theories-”

“Keith,” Shiro said with a stern voice. “You’re not supposed to be coming up with theories. You’re supposed to be watching Prince Lance. It hasn’t been going well. The tip lines have new reports each day, but nothing concrete. There are still fanatics out there, waiting to strike. If something were to happen to the prince while he was here, that would ruin the United Republic’s relationship with the Water Tribe.”

“And we wouldn’t want that.” Keith was surprised by how dry and sarcastic his tone was as he crossed his arms over his chest. “All I’m doing is protecting Lance until they can marry him off. I’m basically his jailer, making sure that he won’t run away so he can be bartered and traded like a piece of property.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow at Keith’s outburst, though if he thought it was odd, he didn’t comment, as instead he said, “I didn’t know that’s what President Iverson had planned. If you came here to blame me for that then I’ve got better things to do with my time.” He gave Keith a pointed look before he crossed to his desk to begin looking over papers there. “And if that’s all you need, then you’re dismissed.”

“It’s not.” Pausing, Keith waited for Shiro to look up at him, but he didn’t, a stern expression remaining on his brother’s face. He could tell Shiro wasn’t in the mood to talk about this, yet it was too important to ignore. “It’s about the case that you took me off.”

“I know all about how effective that was,” Shiro said with a snort. He continued to shuffle through his papers on his desk. “Detective Rolo told me about what happened, how you somehow ended up at the festival where the exchange was going down, and he made certain to note how you had left Prince Lance unguarded somewhere.”

“I didn’t-!” Keith bit the inside of his cheek to keep the protest inside, knowing that if he admitted that he brought Lance along then that would only make matters worse. “I didn’t leave him unguarded anywhere, and the festival is what I wanted to talk to you about.” He could already see the disbelief on Shiro’s face. “I think that I have a lead. Whoever is the mole is connected to what happened there. When we were there, this guy recognized me and knew that I had been reassigned. Then there was this thing that happened where me and Lance got attacked-”

“What?” That had Shiro’s attention as his eyes suddenly were on Keith, setting into a hard glare with a hint of worry and disappointment. The disappointment made Keith’s stomach drop, since he always craved the chief’s approval even before they found out they were brothers, but he swallowed hard to maintain some semblance of composure at Shiro’s questioning. “When were the two of you attacked? And why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“I am telling you now! I was going to do it after I finished my report, but I thought I should give my report in person since it was so important. So, can I?” He paused, waiting to see if Shiro protested. When all he did was clench his jaw, Keith said, “Alright, so then as I was saying, today Lance and I were attacked today. It started when we tried to go back and get the knife that he threw-”

“Why did Prince Lance throw a knife?” Shiro interrupted. “Is that because you left him unattended while you were at the festival?” It was Keith’s turn not to answer, instead drawing in on himself, as he tried to think of a lie that would make Shiro less angry and not let him know that what he did was worse than Shiro thought. “I trusted you to take care of this.”

“And whose fault is that? I didn’t ask for this, Shiro, and it’s not like Lance can’t defend himself. If you just listened to me for one minute, you’d hear that I solved this.” Keith stomped his foot, knowing it only made him seem childish. “The mole attacked Lance since he knew he was alone from the other guy, and then he came for the knife so we couldn’t match his wound. If we find who has a wound on their cheek, then we’ll know who the mole is.”

Shiro took a deep breath then another, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “Okay, Okay, Keith, I can overlook all of what you just said and how irresponsible you behaved if it means closing this case. So, just give me the knife, Prince Lance’s statement, and a sketch of what the wound would look like then we'll proceed.”

Clearing his throat, Keith said, “All I have is Lance’s statement and maybe what the wound could look like if we used one of Lance’s other knives. The people who attacked us got the knife, but I have a gut feeling that this will lead us right to them. Isn’t that what you said makes a great detective? Knowing when to trust your instincts?”

From the sharp inhale that Shiro made, Keith could feel the lecture coming. “Yes, I’ve always said that, but I’ve also always said that patience yields focus. There’s no solid evidence that the two events are connected. Don’t you think that maybe you’re rushing through this investigation to get rid of Prince Lance?”

“I don’t want to get rid of Lance! I like Lance!” Keith shouted. When Shiro’s gaze narrowed at him, Keith looked off to the side in embarrassment. “Not like that, either. I’m not trying to rush anything along, Sh-” He bit his lip. “Takashi. You have to believe me. I think the evidence is there. We just need to launch a formal investigation to find it.”

“And I want to Keith. If this was any other time, I’d trust your gut, but I can’t. We’re already shorthanded with these terrorist attacks. I doubt anyone would pay any attention to it if I did try to launch one without evidence.” Walking around the side of his desk, Shiro placed his hands onto Keith’s shoulders. “On top of that, you’re my little brother. They’ll think I’m showing favoritism if I do. This isn’t like Team Avatar. You know that.”

Keith bowed his head, since he did know that Shiro had a point. It was one of the things he hated about being a detective opposed to being on Team Avatar. “But Lance might be in danger. They tried to take him during the fight. What if while you’re trying to get proof they try again? What if they really seriously hurt him this time?”

“That’s why you’re there.” Shiro’s metal hand tightened a bit on Keith’s shoulder, and he could see that he was struggling with what he was trying to say next. “Unless there’s a reason that you think this has become too personal for you. Because, I’d understand. I know I’d have a hard time thinking straight if it was someone I loved.”

“What!? No!” Keith took a step back, out of Shiro’s grip. “It’s not like that between me and Lance!” He could feel his cheeks growing hot, so he turned his gaze to the ground. “I’ve got this, Shiro. Even if I did ‘have feelings’, it’s not going to affect my work. I’m just concerned about his safety. There’s nothing going on. It’d be unprofessional if I liked him like that.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith could see that Shiro put his hands up defensively. “Okay, okay! I just thought I’d ask. There’s no reason to jump down my throat for it.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, cheeks turning a bit red, too. “I’m not really used to this whole brother thing, but if you ever need to talk about you ‘not’ feelings for Prince Lance then I’m here.”

“There’s nothing to discuss,” Keith insisted, shifting awkwardly, because he could feel Shiro’s gaze burrowing into him. “Lance is waiting outside for me. If you’re not going to do the investigation, then I’m going to go. I need to finish filling out the formal report about the attack and everything.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Shiro shifted, and suddenly, he didn’t look like the imposing police chief any longer, which shouldn’t have startled Keith as much as it did. “Again, I’m always here for you, as a superior, as a brother.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Anything. I know that you haven’t had anyone to-”

“I’m going to go.” Keith pointed towards the door, wanting to interrupt that train of thought. He began to sidestep away quickly. “I’m going now. I’ll see you later, Chief Shirogane, uh, sir. Going to go report on the report.”

Shiro nodded and shifted while pointing out at the door with a metal finger. “Yeah, you go do that.” He cleared his throat, looking down at his desk. “You’re dismissed, so yeah. Go report. And make certain to guard Prince Lance like you’re supposed to.”

Keith nodded his head, though Shiro wasn’t looking at him, and quickly exited out the door. He wondered briefly if the two of them would ever be a normal family who could talk to each other without it getting awkward, but neither him nor Shiro had any siblings before, so he doubted it. There was this invisible line between them, and if it hadn’t disappeared by now, there was little chance that it ever would.

Making his way back over to Lance, Keith could see he had busied himself by stacking everything on Keith’s desk, creating a pile of office supplies that were precariously balanced on top of each other. Keith grabbed his favorite fountain pen from the top, which caused everything else to scatter. Lance let out a small whine, pouting at Keith until he took a good look at him.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go that well?” Lance asked as he began to straighten up Keith’s desk back to the way he found it. There wasn’t much there since Keith didn’t have much that he kept at the office. Some people had drawings from children or a photo of their family, but Keith didn’t have any of that, leaving his desk barren.

“If we had the knife, Shiro would do the investigation, but since we don’t, he doesn’t want to do anything.” Keith sighed, watching Lance, but making no effort to help since it wasn’t his mess. “I get where he’s coming from, but if we sit on it, that gives the scar time to heal, maybe even disappear if they have a good healer. It can’t wait for us to recover the knife.”

Lance chewed on his bottom lip as he thought on what to do. “Well, maybe we can go through Matt. They're friends, right?” Lance suggested while hitting a stack of papers against the desk to organize them. “Shiro might be by the book, but Matt isn’t. Maybe he could talk Shiro into metal-bending the rules a little bit, convince him that this can’t wait.”

Keith crossed his arms over his chest, not liking the idea, but he couldn’t think of a different option. “It’s not like he’s going to listen to me, his own brother,” Keith pointed out irritably. “Just let me finish this report. I kind of made a big deal out of it, so I have to turn it in now.”

“Fine!” Lance huffed, throwing himself back in the chair. He looked frustrated, and Keith couldn’t stop himself from thinking that Lance looked cute. However, Keith quickly shook that thought from his mind, knowing that what he said to Shiro was true. The feelings he had for Lance were inappropriate and better left buried.

* * *

An hour later, Keith pulled up with Lance on his motorcycle to the mover studio lot. The last time Keith had been here, it was to investigate Matt and his ties to the North. He hadn’t been back since, even though Hunk still worked there. It expanded since his last visit, now taking up several blocks in the warehouse district instead of just the one and had a gate with an actual security guard instead of only a ‘Keep Out’ sign wedged into the grass outside the building.

Keith approached the security guard, showing his badge to them. It didn’t take much time before they had checked it and were waving them through, directing Keith towards one of the backlots. The studio was crowded, which shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was considering how the movers were beginning to take off throughout all the nations. That didn’t make the studio any easier to navigate, and he could feel Lance’s nails beginning to dig into the fabric of his jacket as they swerved to miss some stagehands carrying a large, paper boulder.

Despite that, they made it to the lot where Matt was filming without incident, even if Keith had to peel Lance off him. “I think you’re overreacting,” Keith said as he hung up his helmet on his motorcycle before he began to make his way inside the building. “It’s not any different than when we were being chased.”

“I didn’t have a choice when we were being chased,” Lance argued, putting his helmet on the other side before he began to follow Keith. “It was either I rode with you and maybe died or walked home and died for sure.” He placed his hands behind his head. “I bet you’d drive off a cliff if you could. You’re that bad of a driver.”

Keith snorted in response, but didn’t have much to add since he was almost certain that he had done that before. He instead made his further into the building. The set was against the far wall, taking up much of the space while the rest was dedicated to behind the scenes. It was the same over-exaggerated ice cave set that Keith had seen before with a few tweaks and details such as two beds now that Nuktuk and Ginger were together or something. He loved Hunk, but Keith couldn’t get into his movers like everyone else did.

They weren’t filming, which was lucky, and Matt stood in the center of the set, directing people dressed in bright blue, fluffy parkas, coaching them on how to crackle evilly. One reminded Keith of Lance’s sister when he met her, so he assumed the other might be Lance’s father since this was a propaganda film, after all. Off to the side, Hunk sat with his co-star, Nyma. Hunk was playing with his mice, while Nyma seemed to be napping.

“I’m going to go say hi to Hunk,” Lance said, pointing over at their friend with a bright smile. “I know you’ve been kind of doing all the talking today, but...” He trailed off, eyes flickering a bit uncomfortably to the actors. “I just want to catch up for a bit. I haven’t really had any alone time with him since arriving.”

“That’s fine,” Keith said, eyes moving over to the actors, too. He didn’t want to subject Lance to that, especially since he knew how much the films bothered him. “Tell him I said hey, too, though I’ll probably come over to say a few words before we head back out.”

“Sounds good,” Lance said before he began to make his way over to Hunk. Looking up from the mice, Hunk grinned, waving at him before waving to Keith. A grin spread over Hunk’s face, wiggling his eyebrows at him. Keith snorted and looked away, waving over his shoulder at him while he walked over to Matt.

As Keith approached, Matt was speaking with a tall actor with short hair, cut like Lance’s, dressed a little more modern. It made Keith wonder when these movers were set since the posters he’d seen had everyone dressed as if it was taking place during the Hundred Year War. They seemed to be arguing over something, animatedly going back and forth while the actor motioned to the script.

“When will my fire prince come,” the actor said seriously. “No, no... _When_ will my fire prince _come_? That’s not right either.” He scratched at the back of his head as he gazed over the script. “Mister Holt, I’m not exactly sure about these rewrites. Do you think it’s really in character for me to fall in love with the fire lord’s son so quickly?”

“Of course, it is!” Matt exclaimed. “Just picture it this way. You’ve always followed your father’s orders, now in comes your fire-bender prince. He’s rude, arrogant, but the moment you see him. Whoosh!” He threw up his hands, and Keith bit back a groan. “You’re questioning everything. Is your father wrong? Is your prince wrong? This is a very important redemption arc. If it’s a hit, we might even do a spin-off series.”

That seemed to satisfy the actor, the idea of a spin-off, as he went back to practicing his lines. Matt still didn’t seem to notice Keith, so Keith cleared his throat, trying to get Matt’s attention. When Matt did turn, his eyes widened then set into a glare. Before Keith knew what was happening, Matt was grabbing him, pulling him off set and into a darkened corner away from everyone else.

“Finally, you’re here,” he said, putting his hands on his hips. “It took Shiro long enough to get his head out of his ass and send someone down here. I’ve been nagging him for the past week to get a patrolman down here, but no. I swear, what’s the point of being best friends with the chief of police if I can’t get a little special treatment?”

Keith blinked at Matt. “I’m sorry, but Shiro didn’t say anything about you needing someone down here. I actually was hoping that you could do me a favor.” He rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. “But if you’re having a hard time getting Shiro to listen to you then I don’t think you can help out.”

“I don’t know.” Matt shrugged. “Maybe if we swap things then it might be different. If you at least listen to my problem, then I’ll make certain to put the good word in to Shiro for whatever it is you need. Well, after what you did for me and Katie, I should be doing this for free, but it’s kind of a big deal.”

“Yeah, of course.” Keith couldn’t imagine what Matt needed so desperately, but Matt was the only slight hope that he had to get the investigation going without needing to find the stolen knife. “It’s my job to listen to the problems of the citizens, after all.” Even if they were annoying and got Keith arrested in the past.

“All right, come here.” Matt motioned to Keith leaning in as he glanced around suspiciously. Keith followed in suit, glancing around, but there was no one around. Everyone seemed busy with their own jobs. “Now, you need to stay quiet and collected, but some of our explosives have gone missing-”

“Your explo-!?” Keith began to exclaim, though he didn’t get to finish his sentence as Matt’s hands were suddenly over his mouth to keep him quiet. Matt removed his hands then put a finger to his lips. “Your explosives have gone missing?” Keith hissed, trying to keep his voice low. “Why doesn’t Shiro think this is important?”

“Because the last time it happened, I was the one who made them go missing.” Matt looked off to the side with a pained expression. “I think I’m on his list of suspects. He found out I was supposed to have a meeting with the Tribe Chief Baku, only I cancelled that when I decided to stop selling weapons. I changed, but he thinks because we're friends that he's being biased if he doesn't suspect me. I don’t blame him, but it’s letting the people who did this get away with it.”

While Keith wanted to ask if Matt _was_ the one behind it, he didn’t think Matt would help him if he did. “Alright, well, I’ll look into it as soon as I get this case wrapped up. See, I need Shiro to push forward with an internal investigation, but the evidence I had was stolen,” he explained, as Matt nodded his head, taking in the information. “They even tried to take Lance while they were at it. Once he’s out of danger, then I’ll dedicate all my time to your case I promise.”

Matt gave Keith the thumbs up as a wry look crossed over his face. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you. Hunk told me all about it, don’t you worry. You take your time.” He wiggled his eyebrows as if that explained everything, which Keith thought it didn’t. “So, you must be loving the changes to the script then. We had to push the release date back, but...” Matt swiped his thumb across his nose. “I think it’s worth it for this, don’t you?”

Keith nose wrinkled in confusion. “What?” he asked, trying to follow what Matt was implying. “I don’t know or care about what you’re getting at, but I hope we have an understanding on what needs to be done.”

“We do,” Matt said, holding out his hand. Keith took it, giving it a small shake. “And I was talking about the little changes that I made to the script. I renegotiated my entire contract with Hunk, and this was the result. He wanted a bit of sympathy for the character, to give Prince Lance a bit of good press. So, you like it, right? The changes?”

“If I’m honest?” Keith glanced back at the actor. “Lance is going to slit your throat if he finds out that’s supposed to be him. Hunk will probably just get a small pout, but your throat, yeah. What’s even with the fire lord’s son or whatever?”

Matt’s waved off Keith’s concerns. “I’ll take my chances. This is going to be big, I can feel it.” Biting at his cheek, he raised a hand to rub his chin. “And if I told you about the fire lord’s son, that’d be a spoiler. I’d have to make you sign a non-disclosure agreement. But I could if you really want to know.”

“No, that’s fine.” Keith didn’t need to know about the plot that badly. “I have more important things to do. Are there any other details that I should know, because otherwise, I’m going to get Lance back to the hotel. It’s been a long day for both of us.”

“There’s not much to tell. We were doing inventory and the numbers just weren’t adding up. Shiro looked himself, but it didn’t show signs of break-in, thus the suspicion.” Matt sighed, slowly deflating before he perked up again. “But, I’ll keep in touch? I can’t make any promises, though I’ll let you know what Shiro says when I ask him.”

“Thanks, and I’ll do the same if I hear anything about those explosives.” The two of them then said good-bye before heading off in separate directions, Matt back towards the set, and Keith towards where he had last seen Lance. He still wondered what the changes in the script meant, and what Hunk had told Matt. Though, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy for the change, Lance deserved a break from the bad press.

Lance and Hunk had moved closer to the set with Nyma joining them. They were talking animatedly. The light blush that appeared on Lance’s face as he faced the starlet made an anger boil in Keith’s chest. Now that he knew what it was, it was easy for him to push down the sudden fit of jealousy. Lance was free to flirt with whoever he wanted, deserved to, in fact. Keith wasn’t going to ruin that for him, not again.

“Hey, Keith!” Hunk called out, waving at him. He was hard to look at in his costume since it didn’t leave anything to the imagination from the tight pants and vest that didn’t close. Keith had always thought of Hunk as a brother, so it was disturbing in a way he found hard to describe. “We were just talking about you!”

Lance elbowed Hunk hard in the ribs, looking annoyed. “No, we weren’t,” he huffed, though his words only made Hunk grin wider. “Well, we were, but it was more that I was filling them in on what happened today, about how the Triple Threats had chased us, taken that knife, and how I saved the day with my skills. You were vaguely mentioned.”

“You aren’t supposed to be talking about on-going investigations,” Keith chided angrily, even if it was just Hunk, and he supposed Nyma, too, that he was telling. “What if someone had overheard, and they were involved? It could hinder our investigation rather than help it. Do you want that, Lance?”

“I guess not.” Lance put his hands behind his head with a sigh. His head hung slightly, as he looked off to the side. “I just wanted-” He bit his lip, cutting himself off, and Keith wished he could meet Lance’s eyes so he could see what emotion was flickering through them. “I thought it sounded impressive.”

“I thought it was,” Nyma said in a low voice that had Lance’s head perking up instantly. When he glanced over at her, she batted her eyelashes at him. “What about if you come to dinner with me tonight?” Hunk groaned, but she talked over that. “I’d really love to hear more about your adventures.”

Blushing, Lance scratched at his cheek and said, “I don’t know. I’d have to run it by my bodyguard, see if my schedule is clear.” He cleared his throat as he made eye contact with Keith, trying to silently convey something to him. Maybe if they were fighting he’d understand, but right now, Keith was at a loss. “So, Keith, am I free to have dinner with her?”

Keith’s gut reaction was to tell Lance that he couldn’t, that it didn’t feel right him going off with her, but then he remembered how he behaved with the other girls at the jazz club. There was the way he reacted with the marriage and hunting him down. He remembered Lance wanted to find the next ‘Mrs. Water Tribe’, and that just wasn’t Keith. Lance had said it best, and Keith couldn’t stop himself from feeling ugly at letting his jealousy get in the way of Lance finding someone that he could be with, someone who wasn’t Keith, which was definitely for the best.

“I don’t see any problem with it,” Keith said, rubbing at the back of his neck, noticing the flat look Lance suddenly gave him. “We don’t really have anything scheduled, so you’re free to make plans with whoever you want. Just name a time and a place. I’ll make reservations, maybe set myself up at a different table-”

“Hey, maybe I can come, too,” Hunk suggested, butting into the conversation. He wrapped an arm around Keith’s neck, giving him a look of disbelief, and Keith rolled his eyes as a response. “Oh, and I can invite Pidge and Allura. We can have a good old reunion, get the old Team Avatar back together, catch up!”

“Yeah, I’d love that!” Lance said excitedly with a relieved sigh. “It was nice sitting down with everyone on Air Temple Island for lunch. Then I can tell Allura about what happened today, too. She can finally get off my back for not filing a police report.” He glanced over at Nyma. “You don’t mind if they come along, do you?”

“Of course not,” Nyma said, though it sounded a little forced. She folded her hands in front of her, giving them all a bright smile. “The more the merrier. And don’t worry about reservations, I know a great place. We’ll meet up at nine, does that sound good for everyone?”

As Lance was nodding his head and getting Nyma’s phone number to coordinate their dinner plans, Hunk leaned in to whisper into Keith’s ear. “You owe me for this, man. You were so close to blowing it again.”

“I wasn’t going to blow anything because there’s nothing to blow,” Keith whispered back to him, though he didn’t seem to be convincing Hunk as he continued to give him a knowing look. “It’s Lance’s choice. I’m not going to make another one for him.”

Hunk looked as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t have a chance as Lance’s attention returned to them. “We’re good to go. Nyma’s making the reservations while I’m going to call Pidge and Allura,” Lance said cheerfully. “Now, let’s head back to the hotel. I’ve got to get ready for tonight.”

“We’re going to talk later,” Hunk said, as he pulled Keith into a hug, which had always felt nice, reminding Keith of the family he always longed for. Then Hunk hugged Lance, squeezing him as tight as he could while Lance did the same. “I’ll see you tonight, buddy.”

After that, Keith and Lance began to make their way out of the studio. Lance seemed like he was in a better mood, especially given that he was almost kidnapped today. Keith’s stomach twisted, but he again pushed it down, knowing that the way he was feeling would only complicate things between the two of them, which wasn’t something they needed, especially since the two of them were finally getting along.

“Hey, Lance,” Keith said, just as they made it to the door, walking out to where his motorcycle was waiting for them. “I’m glad that you were able to get a date with one of those starlets like you wanted. Maybe she’ll be Mrs. Water Tribe.”

Lance wrinkled his nose. “You think so?” He glanced over at Keith, frowning suddenly. “Hey, I- I really need to tell you something, man. I forgot about it, but then Hunk reminded me of it... Before I go on this group date, I just-” His gaze became lost, searching the air in front of him. “I want to know how you feel about me.”

Keith’s eyebrows raised in surprise, threatening to disappear into his hairline. “How I feel about you?” His voice sounded a bit too high, so he cleared his throat before answering the question. “I care about you, if that’s what you mean. You were annoying at first, but I’ve really come to rely on you. You’re my partner. I couldn’t do this without you, remember?” Grabbing his helmet off the handlebar, he stared Lance down. “Why? Does this have to do with your confession?”

“Yeah, a little bit.” Lance chuckled, and he grabbed his helmet, too. “I guess the confession is that I trust you, too. I-” He looked uncertain suddenly, as if he was having trouble finding the words he needed. “Before you, no one treated me like I could handle myself. I guess that’s why you’re my bodyguard in the first place. So, thanks, I guess.” Shrugging his shoulders, Lance looked off to the side. “For thinking of me as your partner instead of a burden.”

“I really am sorry for calling you one in the first place,” Keith said, reaching out a hand to place it on Lance’s shoulder. He had to lean a bit since Lance was on the other side of the motorcycle, but he managed. “I don’t know why your family would think you couldn’t handle yourself, though. Have they seen the way you throw knives?”

“Keith, they don’t care how well I can throw knives. I’m not a water-bender. I never was, and that’s all they care about.” Taking a deep breath, Lance closed his eyes as if to center himself. “My chakras were never misaligned, because they were never aligned in the first place. It’s this big family secret. My family has always come from a strong water-bending background. Damn it, my cousin is the Avatar. Do you know how useless it makes me to them, not being able to water-bend like everyone else?”

“Oh,” Keith said, letting the information sink in. It made sense, especially how adamant Lance was about non-bender rights. “Well, it doesn’t make you useless to me. And if that’s how they made you feel then- then they don’t deserve you. Lance, you’re my friend and partner whether you can bend or not. Nothing is going to change that.”

Lance opened his eyes, a sad smile flickering across his lips. Tears welled in his eyes, but he quickly wiped those away. “Look what you did, man,” he said with a snort, continuing to rub at his eyes. “Now my eyes are going to be all puffy the next time I see Nyma.”

“You look fine.” Keith looked over Lance, and he couldn’t help his eyes from softening since he really did. Lance grinned at him, and Keith gave him a warm smile back before putting on his helmet. Keith’s heart beat rapidly in his chest, making him wonder if it always did that when Lance looked at him that way. Still, he suppressed it, knowing that Lance deserved a professional bodyguard, not one that was emotionally compromised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, where did you assholes come from? Like for real, I can't believe that this fic has so many hits and kudos! Thank you so much for reading! I know every fic author says this, but I really can't get over how amazing you guys are!
> 
> Please visit my [Tumblr](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/)!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'd like to thank my new beta, AMNWolfDog, for going through this for me.
> 
> Next, I'd like to point out that those who have read this fic before might notice a change in Shiro and Matt's relationship. I said it on my Tumblr, and now I'm going to say it here officially, but because of the developments in season four, I'm not a fan of Shatt any longer, so I went through and edited them to be just good friends. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard since until last chapter, their relationship was pretty platonic to begin with, just needed to get into the mindset to pick the fic back up again. Anyway, I hope you can continue to enjoy it with this change. I've, also, narrowed down the chapter count, so that's been updated, as well.

The restaurant that Nyma picked was an expensive one, and as Keith pulled up to it on his motorcycle, seeing that it had valet service, he, again, felt out of place. Keith had changed into his more formal attire at Lance’s prompting, but he didn’t feel half as extravagant as when he saw Lance exit the bathroom in his best designer suit, the one with the ascot that accented the high collar. Most of Lance’s shirts had the high collar, but this one had silver trim that stood out on the dark blue fabric that brought out the color of his eyes.

Keith thought he looked more like he should be working the valet in his older-styled Fire Tribe jacket than pulling up the fancy restaurant with Lance clinging to his back. The building itself was simple, styled like it could be any other one in Republic City, if it wasn’t for the gold-plated molding that lined the top. The entryway had a red carpet laid out with potted plants sculpted into various animals from a tiger monkeys to cat deer lining the path up to the glass door with the gold frame.

As Keith got off his motorcycle and removed his helmet, a small chill rolled down his spine as he realized that he might not be able to afford much of anything here. He tried to calculate in his head how much he had on him as he handed his keys to the valet. Keith knew it was another couple of days before his paycheck came in, and Lance had paid him back for when the two of them got drinks together, so he might have enough for a small entree.

“You look like you’re going to be sick,” Lance teased, holding his helmet by the visor as he strode up next to him. He reached into his pocket to grab a few yuan so he could tip the valet. “Don’t tell me we came all this way just so you could have second thoughts about the Team Avatar meet and greet.”

Keith drummed his fingers against his helmet, not certain if he needed to hand it off to the valet. They didn’t ask for his helmet, so Keith just clung to it. “I haven’t gotten paid yet,” he explained, “and even if I was paid, I don’t know if I’d have enough to afford one dish from somewhere like here. You’re you. Hunk is getting a lot of money from the movers. Pidge has her own company. Then Allura? She’s the Avatar.”

“Don’t worry about it, man,” Lance said, giving Keith a wink. “This is on me.” He paused pursing his lips while tapping his fingernails against the glass of his visor. “And so, what if you don’t make a lot of money? You should. You put your life on line for this city, and for me. It’s unfair that you do all that and can’t have nice things like this.”

“Thanks,” Keith said with a small smirk, “And it’s alright to keep at this? I didn’t give it a lot of thought before, but we keep charging everything to the room, and to your dad. He’s not going to get angry at you for spending so much?”

Lance chuckled, clearly amused. He held the door open, leaning against the edge of it with the hand that held his helmet. “I can one hundred percent say he won’t get angry at me, because all of this, all you see here, Mullet, it’s my money.” His eyebrows wiggled seductively as he raised his arm up higher to rest on it while he rubbed the nails of his other hand against the breast of his jacket. “Every bit of it was earned by yours truly.”

While Keith knew Lance meant to impress him, he couldn’t stop the bottom of his stomach from dropping as he remembered all the charges to the room. “Your money?” Keith asked, mouth going dry. He remembered the fancy breakfasts that he ordered, and some of the lunches. His eyes widened at the thought of the dinners. “Why didn’t you say anything? I wouldn’t have splurged so much!”

“I’m not hurting for yuan, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He tilted his head to the side, his amused grin growing. “You really don’t know. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised.” His eyes roamed over Keith, gaze lingering on his jacket. “I had an idea, and I used some money that my mom left me to make that idea a reality.”

“Lance-” Keith tried to argue, but Lance pinched the air with his thumb and index finger, before motioning with his head towards a man that was coming their way. He had a large camera around his neck, that made Keith’s ache just looking at it, along with a pen and notepad. The man was clearly a reporter, and his eyes sparkled at the way he looked at Lance, as if he’d discovered gold standing in front of him.

Keith glowered, but Lance didn’t pay attention as he moved into the restaurant, towards the reporter. He followed Lance in before the door shut on him since Lance wasn’t leaning on it any longer then stood awkwardly at his side as they stopped in front of the reporter. Lance shook his hand, cordial as ever when the person wasn’t Keith, and of course, he agreed to answer a few questions. It was tempting to wander off, go find the table where Hunk would be waiting, but instead he stayed, knowing that he had a duty to protect Lance, and his developing feelings for him made Keith remiss to leave his side.

The interview started the same way the last several did with one about who Lance was wearing. This time, instead of tuning Lance out as he answered the reporter’s question, Keith listened. “I’m wearing my own label, of course,” Lance told him proudly, a sparkle in his eye, the same one he got the last time, but Keith was certain it hadn’t make his throat go dry like it did now. “Though, the ascot, is from a Southern Water Tribe designer I discovered. Make certain you spell her name correctly. She’s going to be big. I can feel it.”

“You make your own clothes!” Keith exclaimed, hitting his fist against gently against the top of his helmet as he figured out what Lance meant by his own label, which earned him a quizzical look from Lance. The reporter hadn’t seemed to notice Keith, but after his outburst, the reporter’s gaze shifted towards Keith with a calculating intensity. “Sorry,” he added, clearing his throat. “I didn’t mean to interrupt the interview.”

“I know you,” the reporter said, holding his hand out to Keith. “You were a member of the Arctic Hippos. You were one of the best teams in the league. It was a shame to see you quit. Haven’t seen a fire-bender as good since you retired.”

Taking his hand, Keith smiled slightly at the compliment. “I don’t really remember you from the press circuit.” Not that Keith could remember anyone, anyway. They all looked the same to him and left him with an awkward feeling after they interviewed him. “Still, it’s nice to meet a fan. Thank, dude.”

“That’s because I’m not a sports writer, never was.” A sinking feeling began to set into Keith as the reporter let go of Keith’s hand so that he could write something down on his notepad. “I write for the fashion and celebrity column, which both of you are. So, can I ask what the two of you are doing here together?”

The man wiggled his eyebrows, which made Keith’s knit together. “We’re here meeting a few friends,” he explained, noticing how the reporter made more notes as Keith spoke. Keith shifted nervously. “It’s kind of this Team Avatar thing. We haven’t seen each other for a while, so we decided to make a little time to get together.”

“I see. And what about the non-Team Avatar member?” There was a sparkling in his eye that Keith didn’t like, and he glanced over at Lance to see a hard frown had set into his features. Lance’s hands went to his hips, one side of his waist popping out in clear annoyance. “Is he your plus one?”

Keith frowned, not understanding the question, but Lance was stepping forward, putting himself between Keith and the reporter. “Avatar Allura happens to be my cousin, so if anything, I’m her plus one,” he snapped, losing his previously pleasant tone. “And if you _must_ know, Keith is my bodyguard. He’s taking time out of his schedule to do this, so I don’t appreciate what you’re implying.”

Putting his hands up defensively, the reporter gave Lance a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to offend,” he said, though he still had a slight gleam in his eye as he stared between the two of them. “It’s just, the way I saw you standing earlier, one might assume that you were with whoever was on the other side of the door.”

Though red began to creep into Lance’s cheeks, he didn’t stop frowning at the reporter. “We’re done here. You want to harass me with your questions and rumors? That’s fine, but don’t drag Keith into this when he’s just doing his job.” The reporter opened his mouth, so Lance leaned forward then shook the helmet in his hand threateningly at him. “I said we’re done!”

The glint finally disappeared from the reporter’s eyes, and he took a step back. He looked between the two of them one last time before finally scurrying away from them, back towards the door. The reporter looked upset, and Keith couldn’t help but remember all the times that he had made a reporter angry and the negative backlash that happened because of his comments.

“Sorry,” Keith muttered, fiddling more with the helmet in his hands. One of Lance’s eyebrows popped up questioningly, coupled with a look of confusion, so Keith continued, “For speaking up. He’s probably going to write something bad about your clothing line because of me. I’m sorry. I should’ve kept the comment in my head.”

The look on Lance’s face softened and a grin spread across his face. “That guy was a jerk. He shouldn’t have come up to me in such a public place to begin with.” Lance’s hand reached out, settling on Keith’s shoulder, and Keith couldn’t stop the small gasp that escaped his lips. “Don’t worry about it, okay? He can say what he wants, just not about you.”

Keith tried to fight the blush that appeared on his cheeks and ended up looking away so that Lance wouldn’t see it. “Thanks,” he muttered softly, and much to his disappointment, Lance’s hand lifted, leaving his shoulder feeling empty. He could still feel a burning where Lance touched him, and he wished he knew how to ask him to put it back.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw Lance begin to move, so he followed him. Because of the reporter, he hadn’t taken in the glamour that was the restaurant. Booths with high, red leather seats lined the back wall while tables with tall-backed, mahogany chairs cluttered the middle. Each table had a pristine white tablecloth over it with the millions of forks that Keith had become used to seeing at these types of places. Mirrors lined the walls, making the place seem bigger than it was, while crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, reminding him of the banquet hall.

Lance approached a man dressed in a fancy suit standing behind a podium and asked him about Hunk and Allura. The man pointed to the far back, to a booth in the corner. Keith looked to where he motioned and saw Hunk, Allura, and Nyma sitting at the table already. They seemed in the middle of a conversation with Allura nodding along, seeming absolutely fascinated by what Nyma was saying. They were all dressed up again, with Hunk wearing a green suit this time while Allura had on a dark blue, sleeveless dress. Nyma’s dress looked like Allura’s but with more sparkles and a light-yellow tinge. He didn’t see Pidge among them, which struck Keith as odd, since despite her work keeping her busy, she had always made time for them in the past.

Making their way over, Lance waved as soon as Hunk glanced over at them. Hunk grinned at the sight of them, looking visibly more relaxed, while Allura still hard her attention on Nyma, though she did glance at Lance, giving him a quick yet sly smile. Lance waved at them in an exaggerated manner, causing a few heads to turn towards them. Keith moved closer to Lance, back stiffening as a few eyes landed on him, and he could only imagine what they were thinking seeing him in his worn jacket next to a prince.

“Hey, guys!” Lance said, throwing the helmet in his hand onto the booth before climbing in himself. He grinned, giving Hunk a nudge, who moved over to make room for him and Keith. “This is some fancy place,” he said as he sat down. “They have valets, tablecloths, and everything. You really pulled out all the stops, didn’t you?”

“I just thought it would be nice to go someplace fit for royalty,” Nyma said, turning attention from Allura to Lance. She flashed him a flirty smile, as she placed her chin on top of her knuckles. “Plus, they have private bathrooms here.”

A relieved look passed over Lance’s face, which made Keith’s stomach twist in knots. He almost shot a glare at Nyma but stopped himself before he could act on the impulse. Instead, he took his seat at the table and placed his helmet beside him. “Where’s Pidge?” Keith asked. While he was curious, he, also, wished to change the topic. “I didn’t think she had any projects she was working on.”

“She said she had errands to run before she could come over,” Hunk said with a small frown and shrugged his shoulders. “They seemed very important since she said they couldn’t wait for the next day, but she said she’d meet up with us when she was done.”

“Pidge didn’t mention that on the phone this afternoon.” Lance crossed his arms behind his head as he leaned back against the booth. “Now I feel kind of bad, like I pressured her to come out with us when she’s busy. Man, I hope she’s not overworking herself just to get here.”

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Keith said while opening the menu. He frowned, noticing that there weren’t any prices listed next to the meals. It reminded him of what his dad used to say, that if they had to ask then they probably couldn’t afford it. “I mean, you know how she is when it comes to her business.”

Hunk gave a hum in the back of his throat and opened his menu, too. Keith watched how casual he appeared as he looked over the menu, which made sense since he must go out with Matt all the time due to his job. He looked over everyone, and they all didn’t seem to mind the way the way the menu was set up, glancing at it without the sickening feeling that Keith was getting, especially knowing that it was Lance’s money that would be paying his way.

Lance’s gaze flickered up at him and, as if he could somehow tell what Keith was thinking, gave him a warm smile. “Hey, if you keep frowning like that you’re going to get wrinkles,” he said, placing his menu aside to lean over to share with Keith. He glanced down at the menu items, pointing at the smoked sea slug with seasonal vegetables and a glaze that Keith couldn’t pronounce. “You like that, right?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t have a price,” Keith argued, not minding as Lance pressed closet to him so that he could glance at the menu. The shocked look on Lance’s face suggesting that this was the first time that he noticed this fact. “I’ve never ordered anything that didn’t have a set price next to its name. It’s-”

“We could just leave.” Tilting his head, Keith took in Lance’s concerned expression and tried not to inhale too deeply as he realized just how little distance was between the two of them. “I’m serious, Keith. If this is making you uncomfortable, we don’t have to stay.”

“Yes,” Allura said, speaking up, making Keith’s heart leap as he remembered that it wasn’t only him and Lance sitting at the table. “We didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with our choice of dining. When Lance told us the place, we all assumed that everyone was fine dining here. We don’t mind changing to a venue that would make you more comfortable.”

Hunk nodded his head. “We’re really sorry, man,” he added, and he did look genuinely apologetic, though it was Hunk, so he always was. “Like Allura said, we don’t mind going someplace cheaper that we can all afford.”

Keith looked around the table at all the concerned faces of his friends before his eyes landed on Nyma. He could see the small frown on her face and her stiffened posture. “It’s fine.” Keith waved his hand to dismiss the idea. “Besides, I want to see Pidge. It’s been awhile since we’ve all sat down together. I’ll just work hard to pay you back.”

“Are you sure?” Lance asked, and Keith could see Allura and Hunk nodding in agreement, all still looking concerned. “We really don’t mind going somewhere else.” Lance placed a hand on Keith’s arm. “We don’t want you to feel obligated to be here when we could just as easily go to a cheaper restaurant that we can all enjoy.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Keith pulled his arm out of Lance's grasp and moved away to give them some space, still noticing the way that Nyma was looking at them. He knew that Lance had warmed up to Keith over the past few days, but he didn’t want her getting the wrong impression of them. “I was just making a comment about the prices. I face gang members all day. You think I can’t handle a bit of inflation?”

All of them continued to stare at him with a look of concern, and he was certain they would have argued some more if the server didn’t come to take their drink order. Since they all looked as if they were about to send them away, Keith ordered himself a drink and Nyma did the same. He could feel Lance glaring at him, but he ignored it as he returned his attention to the menu, pretending as if he was considering his choices.

Despite their annoyance, Lance, Hunk, and Allura still ordered drinks, even if Lance only got a water. Keith remained quiet, and he could feel a certain awkwardness take over the rest of the table. He tried to keep his gaze on the menu, even as Lance moved closer to him. When Lance’s side pressed against his, Keith again moved over, only for Lance again to scoot until there was barely any space between them.

“Is there a problem?” Keith asked, his tone low, giving Lance a warning that he shouldn’t continue with his current course of action. He wanted to ask why he was ruining his chances with Nyma by behaving so childishly, but he held his tongue. “I could use a little space.”

Lance looked taken aback, eyes wide and mouth partly open. “But-” He began, before he snapped his mouth shut. A hard glare set into his face, and over Lance’s shoulder, Keith could see both Allura and Hunk shooting him looks of disbelief with Allura even going far enough to shake her head at him. Nyma rolled her eyes, appearing disinterested with their display.

“Your menu is better than mine,” Lance said after a moment, making sure his tone matched Keith’s, even if he couldn’t get his voice as low. Grabbing onto the menu, Lance gave it a tug, but Keith held onto it firmly, not caring if he was crinkling the fancy papers that held the specials. “I want to look at it! Let go!”

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith noticed a few people had turned to look at them, only Keith was finding it hard to care. “This is my menu!” he shouted back, giving it another harsh tug. It shouldn’t have surprised him that Lance had a strong grip, considering he knew how hard Lance could through his daggers, but that didn’t stop him from trying to wrestle it from him. “All the menus are exactly the same!”

“No, they’re not!” Lance insisted, continuing to tug, now leaning into Hunk as he refused to stop. Keith could hear the menu beginning to rip, the papers curling under their fingertips along with the tearing of the thick binding that held it all together. While he remembered the basket, and what happened the last time they had fought over an object, he kept his grip, even as Lance seemed to begin tugging harder.

“Children, please!” Allura said, reaching over Hunk, who looked mortified by the turn of events, and across the table to begin trying to pull the two of them apart. She grabbed Lance by the back of his jacket and began pushing against Keith’s chest. People were now turning their heads to look at them, but that didn’t make either of them stop. “Lance, Keith, we are in a five-star restaurant. Stop this foolishness at once!”

Neither of them were surrendering, even as Allura tried to separate the two of them by force. Keith was almost certain the manager would be by any second to get them to stop when the menu began to tear at the seams and Keith could feel himself beginning to slip back. It was almost the basket incident again when a loud boom rang throughout the restaurant, knocking over glasses and causing the chandeliers above them to rattle dangerously. At that moment, Lance’s fingers went slack as he looked up, causing Keith to tumble backwards, over his helmet and onto the floor.

Another blast rang out, even louder than the last. A moment elapsed where everyone glanced around, seeming to assess the situation before the panic set into them. Screams broke out and people sprung from their chairs to begin fleeing for the backdoor. “Thank the spirits,” Hunk said with a relieved sigh. Allura glared at Hunk while Lance furrowed his eyebrows. Clearing his throat, Hunk quickly corrected himself, “I mean, oh, no. This is bad, and we should do something about it.”

“Couldn’t agree more, buddy,” Lance said with a grin, though Keith noticed that it didn’t reach his eyes. Keith hated that smile more than anything, and he couldn’t help feeling responsible for it. Still, he didn’t think now was the time to say anything as Lance slid out of the booth and offered his hand to Keith, while Allura and Hunk slid the other way with Nyma.

Keith gripped onto Lance’s wrist as Allura and Hunk ran towards the front entrance, where the sound had seemed loudest. Lance grabbed Keith, giving him a tug, putting a hand on his shoulder to help him up off the floor. He offered Keith a half-apologetic glance before he took a step to follow their friends, only to have Nyma catch him by the sleeve of his jacket to prevent him from leaving. 

“Where are you going?” she asked him in concern. Her grip tightened on Lance’s sleeves, nails digging into the fabric as tears welled in her eyes. “This is a job for Team Avatar. You’re royalty. What will happen if you get hurt? Please, come hide in the bathrooms with me.”

Lance frowned and yanked hard with his arm to remove it from her grasp. “I’m sorry, but my place is with Keith.” He glanced from her to Keith. There was something in his eyes that Keith didn’t recognize, but Lance’s expression was soft, too soft for the danger that they were about to face. “But you get somewhere safe. Stay hidden, and don’t come out for anyone.”

Pursing his lips, Keith remembered the last time when the motorcycle spilled over, causing Lance to almost be taken. “Lance, she’s right, though,” Keith said, taking a step back, not missing the betrayed look that crossed over Lance’s face. It broke Keith’s heart, but this was for the best. “Go with her. If it’s the terrorists then they might try to take you, or worse, kill you. It’s my job to protect you.”

Lance took a step forward, a large one, easily getting into Keith’s space, most likely on purpose to show how easy it would be for him to keep up with Keith if he wanted. “Keith,” he said, voice strained, clearly annoyed with him. “You’re not leaving me behind.” Keith saw his fists clench at Lance’s sides, making Keith wonder how far he had pushed Lance’s anger. “I’m tired of you deciding what’s best for me. I decide what’s best for me, not you.”

Keith opened his mouth then closed it, glancing around Lance at Nyma, who looked angry and impatient, though the tears were still in her eyes. “Well, it’s not my fault that you always make decisions that put you in danger. I want to protect you, Lance! Please!” He knew he sounded desperate and whiny, but it was hard to care when all he could see was Lance almost getting dragged away again. “Just let someone put you first! Stop trying to sacrifice yourself for everyone! You don’t have to!”

Lance’s jaw clenched, and fists twitched. Keith was almost certain Lance was going to punch him, but he didn’t. He snatched his helmet off the seat then moved past him, not even sparing a second glance at Nyma, who looked indignant, arms crossed tightly over her chest with a pout. His pace quickened, out of the main hall of the restaurant, towards where Allura and Hunk had already disappeared, probably already on their way to the chaos.

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, quickly to Nyma. He felt bad, like he had ruined her chances with Lance, even though he wasn’t the one who had decided to cause the explosions. He shifted awkwardly, as her heated gaze fell upon him. “I really would continue to get somewhere safe. Just follow the other patrons to the back. We’ll finish this up quickly. I promise.”

Nyma only huffed, and Keith decided to take that as a good sign before he grabbed his own helmet and began to run after Lance. Thankfully, everyone was heading in the opposite direction, so he didn’t need to push past anyone to make his way to the front hall and to the entrance of the building. As he exited the door, he looked around for Lance, only to see him sitting on his helmet while he dug through the abandoned valet station, tossing keys aside in a fit of anger.

“Not these,” he huffed, tossing another set aside. “Not these.” There was a fast-growing pile beside him as Lance discarded each one. Keith could see his keys hanging up on the upper left corner, and while he knew that Allura and Hunk were on foot, they’d both be using their bending to help them move quickly, so they’d need Keith’s motorcycle to catch up, only he didn’t know if it would make Lance angrier if he just reached out and grabbed them.

After the third set, Keith reached over Lance, grabbing his keys, which as Keith predicted, earned him a sharp glare. “Don’t give me that look,” Keith chided with a huff. “We don’t have time for you to mess around with my keys. We’re behind as it is. Allura and Hunk might need us if it’s the terrorists again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance groaned. Still, he got to his feet, grabbing his helmet as he stood. “I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have you to tell me how to manage my time.” He made certain he had Keith’s gaze before he gave him an exaggerated and annoyed eye roll before he shoved his helmet onto his head then stormed off in the direction of the parking lot.

Keith walked a few paces behind him, scanning over the cars before he spotted his motorcycle shoved in a corner, sandwiched between two delivery trucks. He noticed Lance had stopped a few feet away with his hands on his hips. Lance’s expression was hidden because of the helmet, but his posture was tense. As Keith moved to step past him, Lance reached out a hand to tightly grip at his shoulder.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Lance said, not taking his gaze off the two delivery trucks. He took a step back. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m getting a bad feeling about this. We should head back. They might have a head start, but if we hurry, we should be able to catch them, don’t you think?”

Keith nodded his head. He took in the delivery trucks. It was too late for it to be food delivered to the restaurant, and this was a five-star restaurant, so Keith knew that they wouldn’t deliver their food either. He noticed the way the parking lot was structured, how it was out of the way with not clear line of site to the front of the building because of the animal shrubs, with easy access from the back.

Movement in the truck caught Keith’s attention, and the pieces clicked too late in his head. He grabbed Lance’s wrist and tugged on him as he attempted to escape. Only, he didn’t make it far, as a stone pillar sprang from the ground, knocking hard into Keith’s chest. He went flying across the parking lot, dragging Lance along with him, slamming Keith’s side straight into a parked car a few feet away. As he hit, he heard a crack and felt a sharp pain, almost certain that he had broken a rib.

Lance had managed to brace himself before they impacted, and he stood on his feet, looking fine, if maybe a little shaken. He still had Keith’s had in his, and Keith felt Lance entwine their fingers together. “Are you okay?” Lance asked, trying to get closer, hand reaching out to try to either support Keith or check for injury.

“I’m fine,” Keith said, pushing Lance away. Shakily, Keith removed himself from the slight dent his side made in the car. His side felt like it was on fire with sharp pain shooting through it, but he ignored it, gaze instead focusing on the Triple Threat members easing out of the trucks. “It’s just a bruise. Get out of here. They’re most likely after you.”

After giving Keith’s hand a small squeeze, Lance’s fingers slipped from his, and Keith thought for once in his life, Lance was going to listen to him. Keith was wrong, though, as two knives slide out of Lance’s jacket, into his waiting hands, before he stepped in front of Keith, taking a fighting stance. “You touch him again,” Lance growled, voice low, guttural, and almost frightening Keith with the intensity in it, “you’re dead.” 

A few of them chuckled as they approached, and Keith could count ten, maybe twelve. It wasn’t a substantial number, about the same size of the terrorists they fought together. The only difference was that Keith hadn’t been dead weight in that fight. Keith could feel it in every breath that he took, the pain shooting through his chest. He wanted to yell at Lance to run again, get out while he still could, but Lance was already in motion.

The first knife shot out, landing in the shoulder blade of one of the men in the back, while the other landed in the gut of one to Lance’s right. They began to close in on Lance, but two more knives found their way into Lance hand. Instead of throwing them, he lashed out, trying to remain close to prevent them from using their bending. Though his movements were awkward, untrained, Lance wasn’t a close-range fighter, not like this, he was nimble and agile. He dodged their blows and let the others graze off him. What Lance lacked in skill, he made up for in control, too. Whenever someone tried to break off towards Keith, a dagger whizzed their way before another was back in his hand to get their attention back on him.

Watching Lance fight like this over him, caused an unsettling feeling to stir inside Keith. For some reason, Lance cared about him. Lance wanted to protect him, and the thought was terrifying. Maybe that was why he had been so intent on pushing Lance away in the restaurant, since he didn’t know how to handle someone caring about him on this level, enough that they’d give their life for him. Still, he’d sort out his feelings later, despite the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach that he didn’t deserve to have someone like Lance care about him so much.

Lance was quickly tiring, Keith could see that. He didn’t know how to conserve his energy in a fight. On top of that, Lance was injured, now. His best jacket was frayed and burned, and there were bits of frost on the tips of hair along with bruises on his face since somehow his helmet had fallen off and now lay useless on the ground. The thought did cross Keith’s mind to run, seek help, but by then it might be too late. He couldn’t leave Lance, not like this. So, instead, he inhaled sharply and joined the fray.

Every movement caused pain to shoot through Keith, but he gritted his teeth, trying to ignore it. The injury limited his motions, not able to go through the full stances like he normally could. It, also, made it hard to keep in time with Lance’s steps. He could feel the way Lance wanted him to move, the way the dance was supposed to go through, but he wasn’t quick enough, and only ended up taking another blow to the gut as his boot knocked against Lance’s.

Keith was struck again, and this time he fell to the ground. Lance glanced at him, earning him a sharp hit to the jaw by a stray rock. It rose again. Keith thought it was going to hit Lance, but it changed directions, instead coming barreling towards him. The rock fell on Keith’s wrist, and he screamed out as he felt it snap, worse than his ribs if the severe pain coursing through him was anything to go by. Another rock hit him, then another, until Keith was thoroughly pinned to the ground.

The fighting froze as one of the gang members moved closer to Keith. An ice spike formed in the air and hovered over Keith. He watched Lance’s body tense and could see the fear enter his expression. Lance’s fists tightened around his knives, and with a flick, they were in a different position in his hand, ready to be thrown. However, he didn’t. Keith could see it. The fear of Keith getting hurt was holding him back.

Keith struggled to break free, blasting his fire, but the rocks had encased his limbs too thoroughly. “Drop the knives,” the gang member said, holding the ice spike threateningly above Keith. Lance hesitated, hand flicking back and forth, nose crinkling with concentration. “I said, drop the knives. I don’t care how fast you are. It’ll still go into your boyfriend’s chest before your knife hits me, so I would turn myself in if I were you.”

“Lance-!” Keith tried to shout, but the gang member shoved his foot into Keith’s rib injury, causing the rest of the sentence to get lost in a loud scream that he released involuntarily. The gang member then placed his foot on top of the boulder that was on Keith’s broken wrist, and Keith had to bite his lip to prevent himself from having another moment of weakness.

“All right,” Lance said, letting his knives clatter to the ground. He shrugged his jacket off, which made a loud clanging noise when it landed. It also revealed two larger knives that were tucked into his bracers and removed those, too. “There. I’m unarmed. Just don’t hurt him anymore. I’m the one you’re after, right? Well, you got me.”

“Search him,” the gang member commanded, pointing to the closest person to Lance. “Make sure he doesn’t have any other hidden blades on him.” When the person moved towards him, Lance looked as if he was prepared to fight, but the ice spike inched slowly forward. “I wouldn’t if I were you. I might slip.”

Lance grit his teeth but held up his hands, allowing the other person to begin patting him down. He started with Lance’s armbands, finding a string of smaller knives in some of the padding. This was followed by his boots, which held a knife each. “Yeah, forgot about those,” he drawled angrily as they were tossed aside. Next, they went for Lance’s thighs, slowly patting up them. Lance wasn’t having that, and quickly kneed him in the nose before he got too high. “You want to search there, you’re going to have to buy me dinner first.”

The person growled and looked back towards the one giving the orders. “That’s enough,” they said, looking over Lance. “Even if he has something hidden there, he’s not going to be able to reach it once he’s tied up. Cuff him, and let’s get out of here. We’ve already wasted enough time on these two as it is.”

A different gang member moved towards Lance, grabbing him roughly to put the police issue handcuffs on him. “I’m going to save you,” Keith promised him, though it felt like an empty one right now. “Lance, I’m going to find you, and I’m going to save you. Don’t worry, all right?”

“I’m not some damsel in distress, Mullet,” Lance answered with a forced chuckle. Though his words sounded light, Keith could see the worry in his eyes. “As long your safe, that’s the only thing that matters to me. I’ve wanted to say this for a long time, but I-” Lance’s words were cut short by a scream as the ice spike rocketed impaled Keith in his stomach. His eyes went wide, and he growled loudly, “Bastard, you said you wouldn’t hurt him if I gave up!”

“I don't remember saying that,” the gang member said with a shrug. They were saying something else, but the world was starting to spin for Keith, and it felt like cotton had been shoved in his ears. Keith could see them dragging Lance away, back towards the vans, but his vision was getting cloudy because of the blood loss and searing pain. He tried to keep his eyes open, wanted to see if he could memorize what the trucks looked like or maybe their license plate, only everything was too blurred for him to see properly. The vans drove off, and Keith lay there until darkness took him.

* * *

Slowly coming into consciousness, Keith was vaguely aware that he was lying in a bed. He opened his eyes, or tried to, only to be met with lights that were too bright. Keith squinted, letting his eyes adjust before he tried again. This time, he managed to open them without too much pain, and took in his surroundings. The white of the room was glaring, but it was still a familiar sight from the wide windows to his side and the uncomfortable sheets that were lying over him. He was, also, aware that he had a gown on. All signs pointed to him being in a hospital, probably in between spirit healings.

The pain in his limbs came with an overwhelming sense of defeat and shame. He’d let Lance down completely and utterly. It wasn’t even that Shiro was going to be angry at him. In fact, Keith didn’t care what Shiro had to say. Lance had gotten hurt, taken, all because Keith wasn’t strong enough to protect him, had allowed himself to get taken by surprise and injured. The scene ran through his head, on repeat, and each time it did, he felt a twist in his stomach, as if the stone pillar was hitting him again.

As he became more aware of his surroundings, Keith noticed a figure sitting beside him in a wooden chair. Rolo sat with his arms crossed as he looked at Keith with a blank expression. A bandage rested on Rolo’s cheek, and if Keith had to bet, he’d say that if he took it off, there’d be a knife wound there. He was still wearing his police uniform but not his tactical armor, which gave him a more casual appearance, even if Keith had a feeling that him being at his bedside was anything but that.

“You know, it surprised me,” Rolo said, tilting his head to the side. “I hadn’t believed it when I heard it. Keith Kogane in love.” He snorted. “People like you, I didn’t think they could. You’d have to give up too much control. And the walls you built up? Everyone could see them. I couldn’t imagine you giving up any piece of yourself willingly to another human being. Yet, here we sit.”

“It was you,” Keith accused him through gritted teeth. He tried to move, but there was an ache in his side, and his arm was cast. If he wasn’t injured, Keith was almost positive that his hands would be around Rolo’s neck. “You’re the one who’s been tipping off the Triple Threats. You’re the mugger that tried to take Lance and grabbed the knife.”

Rolo chuckled, seeming more amused by Keith’s anger than anything else. “Guilty as charged. Not like it did me any good, though. That was a wasted effort.” He peeled off the bandage to reveal a fresh burn scar. “Your brother got suspicious when he saw me with a bandage when I came into the office. I guess he trusts you or something. I had to burn the stupid scar off to keep my cover.”

“Your cover.” Repeating the words left a foul taste in Keith’s mouth. He couldn’t believe that he had thought he was right. Keith could only imagine the conversation he was going to have with Hunk when all of this was revealed. Another thing Hunk wasn’t going to let him live down. “Your cover’s blown, anyway. As soon as you walk out this door, I’m going to tell Shiro that you’re the one behind all of this.”

Leaning back, Rolo placed his hands behind his head. “You know? That’s not how I picture the conversation going. When I leave, you’re going to call Shiro, tell him you’re conscious, and then you’re going to tell him that the terrorists were behind this. They recruited a couple of earth-benders, which resulted in the kidnapping of your boyfriend.”

“And why would I tell him that?” Keith asked. His fingernails dug into the palm of his hands as a sinking feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach. However, he didn’t want Rolo to let him know that he was getting to him. “You seem pretty confident for someone who just showed their whole hand.”

“Not my whole hand,” Rolo said, running a finger along the burn on his cheek. “Your boyfriend is a bit of a spitfire, isn’t he? I already gave him a bit of a beating for what he did to my face. I’d hate to think of what else would happen to him if you failed to comply with my demands.” A grin spread over Rolo’s face. “We have an understanding?”

Gritting his teeth, Keith felt the bottom of his stomach finally drop. He’d been hoping that the situation was different somehow, but it didn’t seem as if luck was on Keith’s side today. “We have an understanding. I’ll do anything that you want,” he relented, hating how weak he sounded, but he couldn’t stop seeing Lance surrendering, dropping his knives to keep Keith safe. “Just, please, don’t hurt Lance.”

“Good. That’s good to hear. I was a bit doubtful. When my men told me, I honestly didn’t believe you were seeing this guy, but I’m glad I was wrong.” Rolo took a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and held it out to Keith’s good hand, the one not in the cast. “I want you to sign this confession, admitting that you went back in with your old crowd and were the mole. If you sign, then, what was it? Lance? He goes free.”

Keith’s eyes widened, and he hoped that it passed for shock for a different reason, because it was at that moment that he realized that Rolo didn’t kidnap Lance because he was the tribe prince. Rolo kidnapped Lance because he knew that he was important to Keith. He might not even know who he had locked away, because if he did, Keith was certain that he’d be asking for a lot more than Keith taking the blame for Rolo’s crimes.

Shakily, Keith reached and took the paper from Rolo, though it was difficult because of his injury. Lying the paper over his lap, he glanced over it quickly, taking in the sheer amount of crimes that Rolo committed over the years. The list could put Rolo away for a very long time, or rather, if Keith signed this paper, the confession could put him away for a very long time.

Keith fought the urge to rip up the confession, knowing that it would only make matters worse for Lance. Instead, he knew he needed to focus on keeping Rolo talking. He seemed in a generous mood, and Keith needed more time for someone like Shiro or Allura to walk in on them. “If you wanted me to just sign a confession then why didn’t you just take me, too? Wouldn’t it be easier if I was at your secret base?”

“Because, I need you to start the lie that it was the terrorists that attacked. If I didn’t need you alive, trust me, I would have had to killed you and your boyfriend to end this investigation.” Rolo pointed to where Keith knew where had been stabbed. “That could’ve been a lot deadlier if I had asked them to, you know.”

“Rolo, why are you doing this?” Keith looked up from the wound, so he could stare at Rolo with a lost expression. “When I joined the force, I honestly respected you. I thought you were one of the good guys with how hard you worked and the hours you put in. I really don’t get why you’d throw all that away.”

“You know, I thought you of all people would understand, Keith,” he said with a sigh. “I grew up on the streets, too. I thought I could change everything, make life better, but it doesn’t change, does it? The rich continue to use us for slave labor, because of them, the crime never stops. You take down one gang, another takes their place. So, I thought what’s the point? The only one looking out for you, is you. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

“Nevermind that you’re sponging off people like yourself. Poor people hurt by people just ‘looking out’ for themselves. What I did before, it was wrong, so I understand where you’re coming from, _and_ what it leads to. Just let Lance go,” Keith begged. “I’ll let this go, won’t mention your involvement if you turn on your employers.”

Rolo’s lips thinned then he shook his head. “No, I’m in too deep. I’m not going to jail, Keith. You’ve already been there. You’ll fit right in.” He took in a deep breath, the gravity of this weighing on him, too. Keith didn't want to, but he felt a pang of sympathy towards Rolo and his situation. “You’ve got twenty-four hours to sign this, confessing to everything. You involve the chief or Avatar in any way then your boyfriend dies. We clear?”

Keith opened his mouth, not certain what he wanted to say to him, but he didn’t get a chance as the door to the room opened. His throat felt dry as he waited for the person to enter, praying that it would be Shiro to walk through it. However, it was a spirit healer. They smiled at Keith kindly and gave Rolo a small nod. He considered trying to alert them to the situation, but in the end, he let Rolo snatch up the confession and pocket it. Lance was too important to make another mistake that might get him hurt further.

“Remember what we talked about. You have twenty-four hours to make up your mind,” Rolo said as he got to his feet, the chair screeching loudly against the tiled floor. He winked and gave Keith a small salute. “I’ll tell Lance that you said hello. Get well soon, Keith.”

With his good hand, Keith forced himself to wave good-bye, even if all he wanted to do was lash out at him, to force him to tell him where he hid Lance. Keith didn’t, though, and watched Rolo leave as the spirit healer came closer to give him another treatment. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back onto the pillow, hating himself for letting Lance down so thoroughly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, it's been awhile since I updated. It all started when my laptop's motherdrive fried and I couldn't access my files because I had forgotten to make a back-up on my flashdrive. Since my laptop was old, it took forever for them to track down a replacement, and when it did come in, it was crazy expensive, so I ended up having to buy a new laptop anyway. After that, I finally began working on the fic but then a week later was the season 4 drop, which put me off to writing for awhile. But, I'm back! I can't promise fics once a week any longer since these chapters are getting long, though hopefully there won't be as large of a gap as between this one and eight.
> 
> Please visit me at [my Tumblr](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/) if you like my work!


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